Pirates In Love: A King's Treasure
by MysteriousMew
Summary: When a bar fight turns into something more than she bargained for, Reyna is suddenly confronted with the deepest secrets that lie within the waters of the great open sea. Forced onto the Sirius and joining their crew, she'll learn that every secret has a history, including her own. Can she stop a war, find a captain and fall in love at the same time? Pirates In Love fanfic
1. Prologue

**Pirates In Love: A King's Treasure**

**Prologue**

**He Mele No Lilo**

Reyna smiled as she watched a little boy fighting Russell with a wooden sword from beside Eduardo. The navigator was currently setting out another course, memorizing what Morgan had instructed him to do.

"Russell, ease up a bit please," Reyna called, noticing Russell was getting a little too rough with their sparring. Both Russell and the little boy looked up at the female pirate, both wearing grins on their faces.

"I thought I was!" Russell called cheerfully and she raised an eyebrow.

"Mama! I'm fine!" the little boy complained and she chuckled lightly, seeing Eduardo and Morgan smirks at her from the corner of her eye as they resumed their sparring.

"Reyna, you coddle the lad too much," Eduardo commented and she looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "At this rate, he'll be as weak as Thomas."

Morgan shot the navigator a warning look. "Hey, that's my son you're talking about."

Reyna smiled softly and walked down the steps, heading to the bow of the ship and drinking in the feeling of being close to the ocean, feeling it calling to her. With a sigh, she turned away and headed back to the captain's quarters and went to the desk, grabbing a journal and the quill.

_My dearest Lucius,_

_If you're reading this, then you have either explored into places you shouldn't; or either Christopher or Nathan have given this to you to read. You should know that your father and I participated in many things, keeping the peace and balance in the ocean as the Pirate King and his treasure._

_I have to confess, I wasn't a pirate for the first eighteen years of my life. No, I was nothing but a mere young girl who worked as a bar maid in Yamoto, the home town of your Uncle Aaron. You see, I was born in the far north of the world, on a small island called Iciuis, the only place in the world where the ocean and mankind connected in both physical and spiritual ways. But due to certain circumstances, your grandmother was forced to flee when I was four and seek refuge in Yamato. There, she raised me and fell in love with a navy officer and had a son. _

_As history dictates it, those from Iciuis aren't welcome in many countries for others fear of the powers residing in the residences of the magical island. Hence why your grandmother and I hid our abilities and true natures. It didn't make me happy but I understood and still trained in secret in the forests of Yamoto. _

_The story of how your father and I met isn't a romantic one, but just an ordinary day working at the bar…._

**oOo**

**Ten years ago…**

Reyna began setting the tavern up, placing the chairs down onto the ground and giving the floor a quick sweep. The owner had ducked out a while ago for family emergencies so she was left to open the tavern by herself.

A strand of her light blonde, close to white hair fell in front of her ocean blue eyes and she huffed, putting the broom against the counter and re-doing her ponytail.

A loud knock at the door interrupted her; along with a few surly voices calling out, "Open up! Gimme some booze!"

Reyna rolled her eyes, finished fixing her hair and walked over to the door. "Sorry, we're not opened until this afternoon," she informed them as she opened the door, only to be shoved onto the ground by two drunk men as they piled into the tavern. "Hey!"

"Gimme some booze, ya, damn bar!" a freckled man demanded as Reyna stood up, brushing dust off of her dress and glared at the man.

"I'm really sorry but we're not open at this hour," she told them curtly, crossing her arms over her chest. "So I will have to ask you to leave immediately."

"Hm? Ya wan' us t' go away, don't ya!" he exclaimed, stepping close and jabbing her chest rather roughly. She slapped his hand away and looked at him defiantly while one of the other men looked at her with interest.

"Ah, nice body ya got," he sneered, reaching out to grab her wrist but she slapped his hand away as well.

"It's not for sale!" she snapped at him until she felt something sharp pressed against her neck. Her eyes widened as one of the men held her wrist, a knife to her neck. "Let me go you bastard!"

"I'm not letting ya back down. Ya won't get punished for this," a voice whispered into her ear, the smell of ale strong in his mouth and Reyna gagged slightly.

"If you don't release me this instant, you'll regret it!" she warned but they all laughed at her. Reyna searched the tavern for some water just as a gun shot rang, the man holding the knife to her neck pulling away, groaning and holding his arm.

Footsteps came in with a man with a black eye patch, dark brown coat and dark brown hair stepped into the bar, gun in his hand. "Too many bottom feeders around here."

Reyna's eyes widened as she looked at him as he glanced at her before looking at the drunken pair of men. "Stop flirting with a child. It's embarrassing."

"You are you calling a child?!" Reyna shouted at him in fury, finding water in the flower vase on the counter and used that to her control.

"Who are you?" one of the men demanded.

"You go for a scrawny one like this?" he continued to insult her while she ignored him, bending the water closer to her and standing in a battle stance.

The door slammed opened once more, this time with another man walking in. He had a sword strapped to his hip with light coloured hair. "Eduardo! Don't go in alone!" he yelled at the man whom Reyna guessed was this Eduardo.

"Who the fuck are ya?" the man with freckles demanded and he glanced at him, eyes burning for a fight.

"What're ya bragging about? I'll take up the glove," he challenged and Reyna glared at all of them.

"No!" she shouted, catching their attentions. "Not in the bar! Fucking take it outside!"

Despite her words, a fight actually broke out in the middle of the tavern, much to Reyna's displeasure. Although she had water circling around her, her mother's warnings and words came to her mind.

_You must never bend in front of others; a gift like this must be kept hidden…_

_But it could save my life; _she figured and was about to water whip a man that came closer when she was suddenly pulled roughly towards the door. The water fell to the ground with a splash and Reyna glared murderously at the man who grabbed her; Eduardo.

"Don't just stand there! Get out!" he ordered her and she snatched her arm back from him.

"What are you high? I can't just leave!" she exclaimed to him in fury, crossing her arms over her chest.

This took Eduardo by surprise as he blinked. "What?"

"I have to protect the bar while the owner is away!" she told him and he collected his surprise, practically throwing her out.

"You're talkin' in sleep, get out!" he ordered, slamming the door in her face. Reyna, thoroughly pissed off now, started banging on the door with shouts of removing a certain body part if she wasn't let back in.

"There she is!" one of them pointed to her and Reyna looked at them with her eyes widened. "'Cause of you, our buddies got hurt!"

Annoyed, Reyna kicked a few barrels towards them before sprinting off towards the docks. She heard shouts behind her and glanced over her shoulder to see they were pretty far behind.

As she made it to the docks, Reyna looked around for something to hide in. A barrel stood out to her and without a moment's hesitation, opened the barrel and jumped inside, covering it.

Reyna strained her ears, listening over the sounds of seagulls, the busy streets and the many ships pulling in and out of port. Over everything, she could hear the voices of the men looking for her.

With a sigh, she tried to get as comfortable as she could in the barrel. "Looks like I'll be here for a while," she murmured to herself. Suddenly, the barrel was thrown onto its side and started to move. _What? No! Someone's actually taking the barrel?_

The barrel jolted a bit over a slope, effectively knocking her head against the barrel and rending her unconscious.

**oOo**

As Reyna slowly woke up, the back of her head splitting in a painful migraine, she recalled where she was. _I have to get out of here; _she told herself, trying to push the barrel open but something was sitting on it. "Are you freakin' kidding me?" she hissed, trying to open it but to no avail.

"Okay, I'll bring you the booze," a man's voice called and Reyna froze, ceasing her movements. A moment later, the barrel was tipped on its side and the lid opened, making her fall out of the confined space.

"What the hell!" she exclaimed, sitting up and rubbing her head, trying to ease the pain. Dammit, why didn't her mother ever teach her the healing side to bending the water?

"Booze transformed into a woman. Nathan'll be pissed off," a voice said and Reyna looked up, finding a guy with a boyish looking face filled with despair. "Oh man, I'm in deep trouble."

Reyna stood up just as another man walked in, wearing a black bandana on his head. "Thomas, what's taking you so long? Just bring me the booze back!" he called in irritation.

"Nathan!" Thomas said in surprise while Nathan's eyes found Reyna standing there.

"Whoa?!" he stopped in his tracks, staring at her. "What's a woman doing here?"

"Nathan! I'm sorry!" Thomas apologised quickly. "But, I don't know what's going on."

Reyna sighed, rubbing the bridge between her eyes. "Can I point out neither do I?"

"How the hell did you get on our ship?" he demanded when she looked at him, her eyes widened at the information.

"I'm on a ship?" she asked in shock and Thomas nodded his head.

"Yeah…didn't you know?"

Reyna let out a string of colourful words, groaning and putting her face into her hands. "I was chased by some drunks….dammit!" she swore loudly.

"Damn," Nathan grumbled before picking Reyna up and throwing her over his shoulder. Immediately, Reyna reacted strongly and protested violently to being carried over someone's shoulder.

"Put me down!" She shouted, punching his back with her fists and he grunted slightly but continued to walk. "Are you deaf? Let me go!"

"Shut up! Don't bark like a dog," Nathan snapped in irritation as he kept walking.

Soon, they arrived in some kind of medical room and Nathan dumped Reyna onto the ground rather roughly. Reyna landed on her ass with a loud yelp and then glared at Nathan murderously.

"Sure, let's just dump a girl onto the ground," she said sarcastically, standing up as Nathan ignored her, turning to a dark skinned man.

"Doc, you've got a patient," Nathan informed the dark skinned man who smiled gently at Reyna.

"Oh, this's an unusually pretty patient," he smiled in surprise and she just looked at them in suspicion.

"I think she hit her head," Nathan told the doctor who went behind her, studying the back of her head while Thomas and Nathan left the infirmary.

"You've gotta big lump here," he murmured and then looked at her. "You're safe here…don't worry."

Reyna snorted, putting a hand on her hip. "Define safe exactly?" she asked and he chuckled lightly at her comment.

"You've gotten on board without knowing it…I'm sorry…" he apologised as he handed her a pack of ice and Reyna shrugged her shoulders, placing the ice of her lump and sighing quietly at the relief.

"Not much I can do at the moment, so don't apologise for something you had no involvement in," she told him firmly and he looked at her in surprise before smiling warmly.

"They're dining on the deck right now. I'll introduce you to everybody," the doctor said, leading her out of the infirmary. As they climbed the steps, arriving on deck, Reyna looked out at the pitch black sea, breathing in the ocean air. An even stronger presence called to her and Reyna looked up at the night sky, finding it was a full moon.

"Guys, attention please!" the doctor called, catching the attention of every man in the center of the ship. "We have a guest."

"A woman! What the hell is a woman doing on our ship?!" one exclaimed and Reyna immediately recognised him from the bar, the one with twin fencer swords.

"Is she your woman, Doc?" He asked and Reyna gaped at him in shock and disbelief.

"I'm no one's woman!" she exclaimed at him, earning surprised looks from some of the men.

Nathan snorted in agreement. "Doc ain't have no woman. How 'bout Eduardo?"

"What about me?" Eduardo asked and Reyna recognised him as well from the bar.

She narrowed her eyes at him, recalling the insults. "It's you."

"You were at the bar," recognition flashed through his eye and Reyna nodded. "What's your name?"

"Reyna, what's it to you?" she challenged, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at him evenly.

Eduardo's lips curved into a smirk. "Reyna…I may remember that before you get swallowed by the sea."

Reyna's eyes widened in shock and anger while Eduardo continued to speak, his voice laced with a serious tone. "Choose one, with a blindfold or without one."

_Only use your power in self-defence and where there are no other options, _Reyna's mother had often told her and she figured this was one of those times; luckily she was in a place where water was plentiful.

Reyna uncrossed her arms and held her hand out to the ocean, pulling some water that wrapped around her body in a circle. All of the men looked at her in shock while she glared. "Try and let's see what happens."

A booming laugh interrupted them; with a man wearing a captain's hat appeared next to her, swinging his arm around her shoulder. "This is some entertainment….perfect under the full moon."

Reyna yelped at the surprise contact, stepping away as the water fell to the ground. He watched her amusement and she was surprised to see him unafraid of her.

"I made a decision!" he declared, silencing the other pirates. Reyna's guess was he was the captain of the ship. "This woman is now a member of Sirius!"

"What?!" they all exclaimed back in surprise.

Nathan shook his head. "Captain! Your out of your mind!" he objected but the captain just shrugged his shoulders.

"I was wondering that this ship is reeking too much of male sweat. Besides, it ain't every day ya see someone from Iciuis," he shrugged his shoulders, grinning at her.

"It's Captain's order, guys," Russell sighed, obviously not happy with the outcome.

The captain turned to Reyna with a serious face. "Woman, listen carefully. Sirius has three strict rules: One, protect your buddy with your life. Two, never let women or children get harmed."

_That explains why they saved me at the bar;_ Reyna spared a glance at Russell and Eduardo before turning back to the captain. _Not that I needed it though…_

His face broke out into a grin. "Three, we party till dawn when it's a full moon. Don't worry, these guys are all nice to women."

Reyna scoffed at his words, glancing at Eduardo, Russel and Nathan. "Is that before or after they try and kill you?" she asked dryly and the captain chuckled.

"We have one problem, though. We don't have a spare room for ya," He explained and Reyna's face fell.

"Seriously?"

"You gotta share a room with someone," he added and ignored the shouts or protest from the crew members.

* * *

**Alright, this is what I have been writing during my two-week break/block of my others stuff. I honestly love this game, (Nathan is my favourite, followed by Morgan and Eduardo,) and thought to do a fanfic on it.**

**Now I like to call this the elemental series since every guy I will pair has a girl with a certain...element per say. Basically the chick won't be a stupid, dense, weak MC and I match the element to the guy whom I think suits it best. Example: Thomas x MC from the Fires of Iciuis etc.**

**So don't complain or anything, I honestly think the plot line works for me personally, afterall, there are weirder shit in the game than a chick who can bend an element. And before you go all, Avatar: Last Airbender on me, I stand by my reasons. Besides, it won't be ALL elements, there is the element which I personally believe to be the seventh one: Spirit and the MC for my fic with Nathan has it.**

**So yeah...**

**Rate and Review :)**


	2. Chapter 1 - High Powered

**Chapter One:**

**High Powered**

_Things weren't so great in the beginning; I found your father nothing to be an egotistical, alcoholic pervert who happened to have great skills with a sword. Now, I know what you're thinking, 'why didn't I choose to bunk in with either Thomas or Christopher?' well, because at the time all I could think about was getting home. That meant asking the captain directly which meant having to bunk in with him._

_Lucius, you know the feeling all too well, the full moon above the night sky, the power calling to you along with the ocean, giving you a boost both mentally and physically. That full moon helped give me the strength to __**not **__strangle your father that night but be as civil as possible._

_That, my son, was a difficult thing to do…_

**oOo**

"So, whose quarter do you want to sleep in?" Captain asked Reyna who swallowed the lump in her throat, her mind working out every possible scenario and the consequences.

_They're all pirates and no doubt are afraid of my power….._she thought and Russell took her silence as hesitation and rolled his eyes at her.

"Can't decide? Being picky, eh?" he commented and she glared at him.

"Yes, because you are all such _fine _choices that I can't make up my mind," she told him dryly, earning a few snickers from the crew. An idea formed into her mind and she looked at the captain. "I'll stay with the Captain."

Everyone voiced their…opinions while she ignored them, focussing on her thoughts more. _If I want to go home as soon as possible, the best way is to ask the captain directly…_

"How interesting, woman what's your name?" Captain asked her and she ignored his tone, looking at him civilly.

"Reyna," she answered confidently and he smirked.

"Reyna huh? That means, 'peaceful queen,' in the old language," he mused before smiling. "All right! Go ahead and sleep in my cabin."

Reyna looked at him in surprise at his knowledge in the old language which was similar to the one spoken on Iciuis Island. As the men accused of her of sneaking on board on purpose to be the captain's woman, with Christopher and Thomas telling her to change her mind, Reyna ignored them and looked out at the ocean, a calm feeling hitting her.

What pulled her out of her thoughts was the grin the captain was wearing and she looked at him suspiciously. "Tonight's party is over! Let's go, Reyna," he announced as he grabbed hold of Reyna and lifted her over his shoulder.

Like with Nathan earlier, she began to squirm and protest. "What is with you pirates and carrying me over your shoulders?!"

"What? You want me to carry you nicely?" Captain asked her with laughter and she started punching his back but he barely flinched.

"I don't want you to carry me at all! I can walk on my own!"

The captain gently placed her on the ground and she stood as far away from him as she could, her hands at the ready to water whip him if tried anything funny.

"Captain," Christopher interrupted, shooting a sympathetic look at Reyna. "She's only a kid, you shouldn't tease her."

Reyna snapped. "Who are you calling a kid?!"

"Don't let trivial things bother you," Captain told the doctor in a firm tone before grinning. "Besides, from what I felt on my shoulders, she does have a nice chest. Definitely a woman!"

Reyna's face went bright red as she quickly covered her breasts as the captain laughed at her reaction. "Sorry, mates. Looks like all the women end up choosing me."

"Like hell we do!" Reyna exclaimed, already getting a bigger headache just from dealing with these men. The captain laughed and led her to his quarter, keeping a comfortable distant from her along the way.

As they entered, he sat on a comfortable looking chair while Reyna closed the door behind her, staying close to it. "Well, this is my home."

Reyna didn't say anything as she glanced around the room, doing a quick intake of all the many baubles and trinkets on shelves. A few maps were pinned to the wall close to him, along with a huge bed, a desk and a few drawers.

"Don't be nervous," he told her, watching her closely and her gaze fell back onto him. "Go ahead and sit anywhere, including the bed."

Reyna pulled an unamused face at that last bit. "I'll go sleep in the corner," she replied when her eyes caught on something on the map. Slowly, she walked over and her fingers lightly traced the drawing, near the very bottom right corner of the map, 'Iciuis.' A painful feeling hit her chest and she lightly touched her white pearl choker with a blue crescent moon in the middle.

The captain interrupted her and suddenly pulled close to Reyna. Immediately, she could smell the scent of alcohol on him and held back a gag. If she wanted to get home, she needed to be as civil with him as possible.

"You're peculiar to want to stay with me," he mused, looking into her eyes.

"Wh-What is your actual name?" she asked him softly and he raised an eyebrow at her in questioning.

"Why do you ask?" he asked her and she looked away briefly before looking at him straight in the eye.

"You know my name but I don't know yours. It's a little strange for me to talk to you without knowing who you are," she answered firmly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"It's Morgan. I'm quite famous around here," he answered and expected to see recognition in her eyes but found none. "I'm what you call a Pirate King."

Reyna frowned at the title. "Pirate King?" she asked, thinking she had heard that name somewhere but couldn't place it. Maybe it was back at the tavern in Yamato. Or even her step-father mentioning it once or twice.

"I would like you to return me to Yamato," Reyna said, summoning up her courage and looking at him confidently.

Captain Morgan looked at her in surprise. "Huh?" he asked before shaking his head. "Sorry, but I can't."

"Why not?"

"This ship is on its way to find a certain place. We don't have time to turn back," he explained and she looked at him with a panicked expression on her face and Reyna hugged herself by the news.

_I have to continue travelling with them? _She whispered to herself while Captain Morgan frowned at her.

"Did you choose to stay here to ask for that?" he asked and she looked at him, nodding.

"Pretty much," she answered bluntly, running a hand through her strands of hair that had escaped her ponytail.

"I see. You don't look too calculating, but you are," he murmured and grabbed her chin, lifting Reyna's head up. Reyna froze at the physical contact, staring into his dark brown, grey eyes as he stared into her ocean ones. "If you want to make a deal with me, you'd better be prepared to give something in return."

As he spoke, Reyna's fingers immediately went to her chocker, wishing that wasn't what he was speaking of. It was the only thing she had left of her mother's time on Iciuis before changing to become a Yamato woman.

"You're prepared, aren't you?" he saw how quick her fingers went to her neck and smirked. "So, how do you plan to seduce me?"

Reyna blinked before pushing him away, looking at him with a look of disbelief. "I have no intentions of doing that! God, what do you take me for? A whore?" she asked him in disgust.

Captain Morgan chuckled and then turned into laughing at her reaction, obviously finding enjoyment with her behaviour while Reyna glowered at him in anger. "You're bright red," he chuckled, seeing her face. "I'm only kidding. I'm not that desperate to go for a kid like you."

Reyna was now thoroughly pissed off, clenching her fists at her side. "I'm not a freakin' kid! I'm eighteen years old! And I'm not desperate enough to sleep with someone who thinks this is all a game!"

The door suddenly opened, revealing Christopher holding a bottle with more alcohol and Russell standing behind him, looking like he wanted to be anywhere but there.

"Captain, I thought you'd like more to drink," Christopher said, handing Captain Morgan the bottle as the captain looked disappointed.

"Darn, and we were just getting started," he complained and Reyna shot him an unamused look.

"Like hell we were," she shot at him and he just laughed in return before turning back to Christopher.

"Christopher, you brought the good booze, right?" Captain Morgan asked the doctor who nodded.

"Of course, the best of Yamato."

Captain Morgan immediately started to open the bottle while Reyna watched him, shaking her head as Christopher stepped closer to her. "Reyna, would you like some, too?"

"No thank you, I don't drink," she answered bluntly, looking away and finding her eyes set again on the map she looked at earlier.

"Don't waste expensive alcohol on a kid," Russell pointed out and Reyna decided enough was enough and flipped him off.

"We'll handle the Captain, so you can sleep with ease," Christopher leaned over and whispered quietly in her ear. She shot the doctor a grateful smile and nodded and went over to the corner, dozing off.

**oOo**

**Next Morning…**

Reyna never really knew why she rose with the sun and she often asked her mother about it. Of course, her mother refused to speak about it and changed the subject.

"Mm…" Reyna moaned quietly, slowly waking up after feeling the bed rock side to side slowly. Her nose registered the scent of the ocean and yesterday's events slowly came back to her. "That's right; I'm on a pirate ship."

Something moved beside her and she turned, almost yelping in surprise as she found Captain Morgan, shirtless, sleeping next to her, in his bed. _When did I get into the bed?! _She exclaimed in her mind, covering her eyes quickly.

"Cover yourself!" she exclaimed at him, sitting up and going to get off of the bed when he grabbed her waist, pulling her closer to him.

"What's wrong? You want me this early in the morning?" he whispered in a husky tone as Reyna frantically tried to pry herself away from him, looking around for a source of water. She found a water basin on the desk and reached out, watching the water come over and splash onto their faces. It woke Captain Morgan up immediately and allowed Reyna to quickly escape, falling flat onto the floor. "What the hell? Why am I all wet?"

"Why aren't you wearing a shirt?" Reyna asked, covering her eyes immediately as she stood up.

"It was hot," he answered indifferently. "Besides, I still have my trousers on…it's not a big deal, is it?"

Reyna snorted, shaking her head and hesitantly trying to find the door, much to Captain Morgan's amusement. "Obviously since I'm covering my eyes."

"Your people don't like naked men?" he asked curiously as Reyna uncovered her eyes but blocked her view to Captain Morgan.

"It's frowned upon," she answered, walking out of the room and heading to the front deck. No one was around, thankfully, so she began to do her morning ritual.

Growing up, Reyna's mother still forced her to keep up some of the main traditions of the Iciuis people. One of them was performing the, 'Dance of Lilo,' the Mother Goddess in the early morning.

As Reyna closed her eyes, feeling small amounts of water come to her, she made her way to the middle of the deck. She placed her hands in front of her, elbows out as the water circled around her like a belt.

Breathing in deeply, she moved her hands above her head, swaying them left and right before spreading them out of both sides and bringing them closer to her. With each movement, the water followed her hands, drawn to the dance while Reyna continued.

Every move she made, she did with ease and grace. Her body, having done the dance over a thousand times, moved on its own. She was so absorbed into the dance; she didn't hear anyone watching her until she finished with light water droplets falling on top of her in a gentle spray and opened her eyes.

Thomas was staring at her in awe and Reyna flushed with embarrassment. "Miss Reyna, that was amazing! What was that?"

"Just a…morning ritual," she answered slowly, running a hand through her hair as she quickly re-did it into a ponytail again. "Um…"

"My name is Thomas," he filled in for her with a bright smile on his face. "I'm the lowest on the totem pole here, but it's nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Reyna smiled at his cheerful behaviour, taking note that he appeared to be around her age. That must be why he was so easy to talk to, and he reminded Reyna of her younger brother Aaron.

"Over there, steering the ship is Eduardo," Thomas explained to Reyna, pointing to Eduardo who held onto the wheel with a calm expression. "And polishing his sword is Russell."

Reyna looked over; finally seeing Russell as he looked away and she frowned, wondering why she never saw him earlier. Thomas continued to introduce everyone and what their jobs were.

"Christopher is our chip doctor, and Nathan is our chef," he grinned at her. "And all of us make the crew of the Sirius."

Reyna leaned on a railing, tracing her fingers lightly against the wood. "The Sirius…" she murmured, recalling here that name pop up once or twice in the tavern and her step-father mentioning about the Sirius Pirates.

_If only he could see me now, he'd have a heart attack, _she chuckled softly at the thought as Russell walked over, looking annoyed at Thomas.

"Thomas! There's no need to tell her anything about us!" Russell snapped at Thomas whose cheery smile fell from his face.

"I'm sorry," Thomas apologised and Reyna sighed, looking at Russell with a calm expression.

"Where is this ship headed?" she asked him and Russell opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Captain Morgan who answered it instead.

"Skull Island," he answered and Reyna sighed in relief that he was dressed properly now.

"Skull Island?" she repeated in a questioning tone and he nodded in confirmation.

"There's a rumour about legendary treasures there," he replied and looked over towards Eduardo at the steering wheel. "Eduardo! How is the sea today?"

"It's calm. Hopefully we can find a clue on where to go," Eduardo answered and Thomas looked at Reyna curiously.

"Can't Miss Reyna find it?" he asked and Reyna raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms over her chest. "Don't water benders from Iciuis have good memories of the ocean?"

"That's a myth and I haven't been to that place since I was four," she answered and looked away, staring out at the ocean. _That means this ship is sailing without knowing where to go…_

"Captain! A ship is approaching us from behind!" Eduardo suddenly announced and Reyna turned, looking over and seeing a pirate ship with black sails and a skull with crossbones on it. "It's the Rika."

"So Alan is wandering around here, too…" Captain Morgan murmured to himself, scratching his chin lightly as Thomas leaned in closer to Reyna, seeing her frown.

"The Rika is another pirate ship which always follows us," he explained to her. "And the captain of that ship is named Alan."

Reyna sighed tiredly, shaking her head with a small smile on her face. "So even pirates have stalkers too."

Thomas laughed quietly at her comment as the pirate ship came close enough to line up with the Sirius. Reyna, Thomas, Captain Morgan and Russell walked over to the other side of the deck, closer to the Rika.

"Well, aren't you guys the members of the Sirius," a man with black hair, bits of it beaded, wearing black captain clothing called from the ship. "What a coincidence, bumping into you here."

Russell snorted from the other ship of Thomas. "Sure it's a coincidence. Just admit that you're following us."

"I believe it is your ship that keeps appearing wherever we go," Alan replied curtly, making Russell glare at the Rika captain. "But now that we're both here, why don't we play for a bit?" he suggested, pointing a gun and unsheathing his sword, pointing it at them.

Captain Morgan sighed in annoyance. "I guess we have no choice…"

Reyna looked at Captain Morgan with an eyebrow raised. "You do realise, I could just _push _the ship away, right?"

Captain Morgan mirrored her expression. "_Really_?"

"….Probably…"

"Tom! Colin! That's your cue!" Alan shouted at two male twins, one wearing a red vest and the other green.

"Aye, aye, sir!" they simultaneously shouted, grabbing a rope each and swinging onto the Sirius.

"Fuzzy!" Alan called and a large female pirate with blonde hair and a pink bandana stood next to him, smiling wickedly at the Sirius.

"Aye, Captain! Leave it to me!" she declared with determination, grabbing a rope and swinging over, landing close to the twins. One after another, more Rika pirates swung over and landed on the deck of the Sirius. "It's been a while, so expect some racket from me."

"A woman?" Reyna asked in mild surprise and Russell heard her.

"That's Fuzzy, the she-gorilla of the Rika," Russell informed her and Reyna couldn't help but let out the small chuckle at the image.

Fuzzy, however, was not amused by Russell's comment and glared at him. "How dare you speak of me like that, you little monkey!"

Now Russell got pissed off, drawing his twin fencers. "Who are you calling a monkey!" he shouted as Nathan came onto the deck, his sickle and chain in hand with an annoyed expression on his face.

"If you're going to keep me from cooking, then I have no choice but to fight," he barked, knocking down at couple of Rika pirates along with Russell.

Above, by the steering wheel, Eduardo was shooting a couple. "Hey, if you don't want to die," he called to Reyna who looked at him from below. "I suggest you hide in another barrel."

She glared at him. "I'm not some weak woman!" she snapped at him, irritated and grabbing some water. As a few pirates began charging at her, Reyna water whipping them onto the ground, Alan noticed her.

"Oh, what do we have here?" he asked curiously, walking over and ignoring the fight. "I didn't know the Sirius had a female bender on board."

"Come any closer and I'll knock you into the water," Reyna warned him, standing in a defensive stance with the water drawn and pointing at him.

Alan chuckled, looking at her in interest. "Are you Morgan's new woman?"

"Fuck no!" she exclaimed, turning a bit pink on the cheeks at the assumption.

"Looks suspicious when you deny it so vehemently," Alan pointed out as Fuzzy overheard and pushed Russell out of the way, glaring at Reyna.

"Is it true that the Sirius has a woman as well?!" Fuzzy growled, charging straight towards Reyna. Fuzzy tried to cut Reyna with her sword, making her barely dodge the attempts. "I'm not giving up the title of being the lady of the waters!"

"Who'd want a title like that?!" Reyna exclaimed in a desperate tone, grabbing huge amount of water from the ocean and throwing it at Fuzzy, knocking her onto the ground.

"You're dead for wetting my clothes!" Fuzzy screeched, getting up to charge at Reyna once more but Reyna was suddenly pulled back and felt hands on her shoulders.

"Are you okay?" Captain Morgan asked, slightly amused and slightly concerned for the young bender. This didn't do any good as Alan pointed an accusing finger towards them.

"I knew you were Morgan's new woman!" Alan exclaimed as Fuzzy paused and looked at Reyna in disgust.

"What? A scrawny little fish like her is the Pirate King's woman?" she sneered and Reyna glared at her.

"Shut up before I freeze you face," she snapped at Fuzzy and stepped away from Morgan. "And I'm _not _his woman!"

This didn't do anything as every one of the Rika pirates just kept exclaiming the same stupid thing. The twins, Tom and Colin looked at her in surprise.

"That's the woman of the Pirate King, the leader of the pirates?" Tom questioned, a slightly British accent in his voice.

Colin clucked his tongue. "They don't look right together."

Reyna glared at him and whipped his sword out of his hand, making him protest while she crossed her arms over her chest, letting the water drop onto the ground. Russell and Thomas snickered while Eduardo smirked at her behaviour, Nathan just shaking his head.

Alan clapped his hands together, smirking at Reyna. "Okay! I've decided that I shall have your woman."

Reyna's jaw dropped at the declaration while Captain Morgan just looked at the other captain in confusion. "Huh?" they both exclaimed while Alan continued.

"What's yours is mine! I want anything that belongs to you!"

Captain Morgan sighed. "Again, with your nonsense…."

"Again, I'm not his woman," Reyna complained but of course, like with her other protests, they fell on deaf ear. Honestly, what was the point of saying it anymore?

"But today, it's enough that I have seen your new woman," Alan said and grabbed a rope, snapping his fingers. "Let's go back! Tom, Colin, Fuzzy!"

"Aye, aye, sir!" all the Rika pirates called and escaped back onto their ship. Russell was snapping and shouting at them to come back and fight like real men while Nathan sighed tiredly.

"They come and take off so suddenly…" he muttered as they all went to the railing and looked over at the ship. Captain Alan, who was already back in the Rika, waved his arms to the Sirius crew.

"I forgot to mention that I've got the map to Skull Island!" Alan boasted with a shit eating grin. "Morgan! It seems you only have a few days to secure the title of Pirate King!"

Reyna watched as the Rika sailed away with Captain Alan's laughter echoing among the Sirius. Already, the Sirius crew assumed their usual positions with Thomas looking at Captain Morgan worriedly.

"Captain! He said he's got the map to Skull Island," Thomas said but Captain waved off the concern.

"Don't worry about it. This is Alan we're talking about. It's probably not real," Captain Morgan reassured Thomas as Reyna pulled her eyes away from the ocean, looking at them.

"Shall we follow them?" Eduardo asked the captain who shook his head.

"No, we stay on course. We'll find Skull Island on our own terms," he answered, looking out at the horizon. Reyna looked out and saw the port of Yamato was nowhere to be seen.

"I didn't know Miss Reyna could move like that," Thomas beamed at her and she gave him a small smile in return before looking back out at the ocean.

"Believe me, I have a lot to learn," she murmured to herself, closing her eyes and feeling the slightly morning breeze run through her hair.


	3. Chapter 2 - Saviour

**Chapter Two:**

**Saviour**

_Ever since then, Alan has been bent on claiming me as his woman, even if I kept freezing his legs together. He insists that the ice from my heart is melting. Now you understand why your father and the rest of the Sirius crew aren't too fond of him._

_Speaking of not being fond of, if there was one thing I hated about your father the most back then, was his womanizing ways. Honestly, everything seemed like a game to him and he never realised that __**maybe **__he may have made a mob of woman mad. Before we even became a couple, he used to use me as a shield so woman wouldn't kill him. The first time I was dragged into one was back in the Port of Laon._

_It's times like these, Lucius, that I pray you'll never turn into a womanizer like your father in his early days, although that habit hasn't really died down even today._

**oOo**

Reyna didn't notice that she had got a cut from Fuzzy's sword until Christopher pointed it out and took her to the infirmary. It was only a small one on her leg, making her wonder when it happened.

"It's a minor wound. It should heal soon enough," Christopher smiled warmly at her and Reyna smiled back in thanks.

"I'm sure it'll heal if you put water on it," Russell grumbled as Christopher moved to treat his injuries. "Aren't Iciuis people able to do that?"

"My mother is a healer," Reyna nodded in confirmation and then smiled in embarrassment. "But…I never actually learned from her. I thought it was for the weak. Now I see the error in my judgement."

"Why did you choose to stay with Captain?" Christopher asked, ignoring Russell's hiss as he applied alcohol to the wounds to clean them.

Reyna shrugged her shoulders. "I wanted to ask him if we could return to Yamato."

"I see. And what did Captain say?"

"He said there's not enough time."

Christopher gave her a sympathetic look, rubbing the back of his neck. "Ah," he said, nodding. "And, what are you planning to do?"

"I _was _going to try and ask him again," Reyna sighed, looking at her hand carefully while lightly touching her choker. "But to be honest, I think staying on the ship might be beneficial for me. You saw me fight today, how terrible my bending was. I _need _to become stronger…so I can face…"

Russell looked at her, understanding of her desire to become stronger. "Face who?"

"Never mind," Reyna shook her head, standing up as Christopher studied her choker closely with interest.

"Captain tends to hit on any lady he sees so be careful, got it?" he warned her and Reyna snorted.

"In fact, he once seduced and kidnapped a princess!" Russell added and Reyna looked at them in surprise.

"A princess?" she asked curiously. _There's a woman who actually wanted him?_

Russell nodded. "Because of that, there's a ridiculously high bounty on his head."

"As high as his ego?" Reyna crossed her arms over her chest and Christopher coughed, politely covering his chuckles while Russell smirked.

"Yeah, the highest of all pirates, he is the Pirate King, so that's expected."

Now Christopher let loose his chuckles. "You sound so proud of that," he teased and the doctor and the bender laughed as Russell flushed with embarrassment.

"Because he's the Pirate King! To be a member of his crew is something all pirates desire!" he defended himself and Christopher shook his head, smiling at Reyna.

"Perhaps, but anyway, just be careful, Reyna," his face sobered and Reyna rolled her eyes at the doctor's worry but a smile was still on her face.

"Although you're a natural playboy as well, Christopher," Russell shot at him, revenge for Christopher's teasing.

Reyna raised an eyebrow, a smirk on her face. "Oh really?"

"I have no recollection of doing anything to deserve that," Christopher replied calmly, sending a small glare to Russell. "I don't think even the Captain would do something."

"After this morning, I think he'll keep water out of the room," Reyna chuckled lightly and Russell grinned at her.

"Captain isn't interested in kids," Russell commented, only to have water thrown at his face. "HEY!"

Both Reyna and Christopher ignored him as they turned to each other, an amused smile on Christopher's face. "I know you want to return to your hometown, but don't do anything rash."

"Me? Rash? Never," Reyna waved it off, leaving the infirmary and headed to the captain's quarters. Thankfully, Captain Morgan wasn't there when she arrived and Reyna let out a small smile in relief. She began recalling the conversation with Russell and Christopher earlier. "A Pirate King…"

_From what I can see, he's just an egotistical womanizer, _she snorted lightly, heading over to the maps and studying them again. _At the tavern, men used to talk about the man who was above all pirates. He's looks like a drunken pirate to me…_

"Seducing a princess? What charm could he have?" Reyna mumbled softly to herself, tracing Iciuis again.

"What are you mumbling about?" Captain Morgan asked and Reyna jumped in surprise, turning and facing him.

"You…need a bell or something," she pointed out and he smirked at her.

"Talking to yourself while standing there, are you lovesick?" he asked and she rolled her eyes.

"No," she answered bluntly, crossing her arms over her chest. Captain Morgan just laugh at her attitude.

"You're cold as always," he laughed as he sat down on the bed. "Must be an Iciuis thing."

"Or a what any sane woman would do."

Whether he took offence to the comment, Captain Morgan didn't show it and smiled at her. "Why don't you sit down?" he offered and Reyna narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. "What were you expecting? I didn't tell you to sit next to me," he laughed and pointed to a red velour rocking chair. "You can sit on that chair."

Reyna didn't say anything as she sat down on the rocking chair, immediately liking how comfortable it was and drew her legs close to her chest. "Captain Morgan, you're the Pirate King, right?"

"Why are you asking that out of the blue?" he asked her, surprise and suspicion in his eyes.

She ignored his question. "What exactly is a Pirate King?"

Captain Morgan thought about it, chuckling slightly at how funny her question was. "Let's see…it's like the head of the pirates."

"Okay, but do you do anything in particular?" she pressed and then, with horror, realised she was acting like her step-father. Man, he would be proud of her right now.

"Hm?" Captain Morgan smirked, studying her. "Are you interested in me now?"

Reyna rolled her eyes with a scoff. "It's not like that. It's just…that I can't imagine what a Pirate King is like…"

"If you could imagine it so easily, I'd be worried."

"Russell said you kidnapped a princess. Is that true?" she honestly was surprised to find that she was asking these sorts of things. Though Reyna would be lying if she said she wasn't interested. She had always wondered what life outside of the Yamato ports was like.

"Huh? Which princess would that be? There are too many, I don't remember," he frowned in confusion and Reyna let out a frustrated groan.

"Forget it that I ever asked," she muttered, looking away and hugging her knees closer to her chest. Silence filled the room after that and it was a while before Captain Morgan spoke.

"You think I'm heartless, don't you?" he said quietly and she glanced over at him, away from the maps on the wall.

"Not really," she admitted and he raised an eyebrow, looking at her in surprise.

"What, you have no interest in me at all?"

"I thought I made that clear with the water this morning," she frowned. "If you kidnapped a princess, wouldn't she be on this ship?"

A dark look passed through Captain Morgan's eyes and he seemed withdrawn for a second. "You got me there…"

Reyna was surprised to see the captain without his stupid grin. "Where is she now?" she asked slowly, watching his face closely. _Maybe he's not such a bad guy after all…_

"Issues between a man and a woman are complicated," he answered; the grin back and Reyna shook her head at her own stupidity. "But don't get me wrong. I'm not cold-hearted. I'm just very passionate."

He looked at her with a serious gaze, his eyes catching hers. "Now, I'm sick of princesses. I've never conquered a bender before, that's why I'm interested in you."

A look of alarm crossed Reyna's face and Captain Morgan broke out into laughter. "Just kidding! I'm only teasing. You don't have to be so cautious. I won't do anything. You're fun to tease because you're so fiery and naïve."

_Nope, changed my mind. He's still an egotistical womanizer, _she sighed tiredly, leaning further into the rocking chair, smiling softly at the comfort. _He may be handsome on the outside but inside, he's the same as the old men who hit on me at the bar._

"If I made a move on a little girl like you," his face sobered. "I wouldn't hear the end of it from Christopher. I don't like listening to his lectures," he grumbled, laying down on the bed.

Reyna chuckled quietly, imaging the big bad Pirate King getting lectured by someone as sweet as Christopher. Now _that _was a sight she would pay to see.

"Come here," Captain Morgan told her and Reyna looked at his suspiciously. "I told you, I won't do anything. And I didn't drink much today, so I don't smell."

He patted the bed as she continued to watch him. "I actually wanted a dog or a cat."

Reyna looked at him in annoyance. "So I'm supposed to be your pet?"

"You act like a puppy. Come on," he patted the bed again. "Let's go to sleep."

Although she wouldn't admit it, Reyna _was _tired from bending so much today. After the fight with the Rika, she did practice her bending forms a bit more before being dragged to the infirmary by Christopher. Bending took up a lot of energy from a person, and that energy usually has to come from within.

_It was my decision to stay here, so I have to put up with the consequences of my actions, _Reyna sighed to herself, getting up and crawled into the bed, staying close to the edge.

"You're going to fall," Captain Morgan pointed out as she kept her back to him.

"If that keeps you away, then fine by me."

Captain Morgan was silent and Reyna got comfortable until an arm snaked around her waist and he pulled her closer to him, her back pressed against his chest.

"At least you're soft," he murmured and patted her head, like she was a puppy and went to sleep. Reyna squirmed in his hold but Captain Morgan just tightened his hold on her.

With a sigh, Reyna gave up and eventually fell asleep as well.

**oOo**

**Three Days Later…**

Since the ship was running low on supplies, the Sirius made a stop at the Port of Laon. Thomas and Reyna walked side by side as they climbed off of the ship and Reyna looked around.

"It's been a while since I've been on land," she said and Thomas listened. "This is a large port."

Nathan appeared on the other side of Reyna and looked at the port. "This port is known for their fruit. I'm going to load up."

"Thomas, here's the shopping list for this stop," Russell said, handing Thomas a piece of paper with many items listed on it.

"Aye, sir!" Thomas replied enthusiastically, making Reyna smile at his adorable nature.

"I'll help too—" Reyna began to offer help but Captain Morgan cut her off with a clap of his hands. Everyone turned and looked at him.

"I'll be waiting at that bar," he pointed to one across the docks. "We'll meet up before sunset."

Reyna watched, her face falling as everyone left and disappeared into the town. Captain Morgan placed an arm around her shoulders and smiled at her. "Let's go, Reyna."

"Go…where exactly?" she asked, pulling his arm off of her and crossing her arms over her chest.

"The bar, come with me," he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Reyna pulled a face. "I wanted to go shopping, besides, I don't drink remember?" she reminded him but he waved it off.

"If there's something you want, I'll buy it for you later," he offered and she looked at him suspiciously, wondering if he had some ulterior motive in mind. "It's been a while since you've been in town. I'm sure you have things you want."

"Yeah…" she broke off, knowing he was right and Captain Morgan smirked.

"So after a drink, I'll buy them for you."

Giving up, Reyna sighed and nodded, giving him a warning look. "I'll hold you to that."

"So you can be obedient after all," he commented, walking towards the bar with her beside him. "You're cuter when you are."

"Are you teasing me again?" she asked him tiredly and he chuckled at her tone.

"Who knows? But unless you cheer up, my drinks won't taste good," he declared as they entered the bar. Reyna didn't say anything as they walked in, ignoring the wolf whistles and stares from other men as she and Captain Morgan found a spot by the bar. "Aren't you popular."

"Hm?" she asked as Captain Morgan ordered a drink and she ordered some water with a bit of lemon.

Captain Morgan shook his head, taking a few sips of his drink. "What's with the water and lemon?"

"It's a common drink in Iciuis," she answered as the bar maid handed her a tankard filled with the water and a slice of lemon. Reyna squeezed the lemon juice into the water and looked around before casually holding a finger above it, mixing the water in the tankard. "It's to give you more energy."

Now he looked interested. "That's something that's been bugging me. I thought those from Iciuis couldn't leave the island. How come you're from Yamato?"

"My mother decided to leave," she replied curtly, obviously not wanting to talk about something she barely knew herself. Her mother never told her why they left Iciuis but said it was her own good.

"How does your bending work anyway?"

Reyna spared him a glance and saw he was genuinely interested in these sorts of things. "Why do you want to know?"

"I'm curious," he shrugged his shoulders, taking another sip from his drink. "Very few people in the entire world get the chance to meet a bender, so can you blame a man for taking this opportunity?"

Reyna took a sip of her drink and smiled slightly at the taste, already feeling some energy come back to her from her morning ritual and practices earlier on the ship. "Bending requires energy and that usually comes from the bender," she held up her hand, looking at it. "There are some forms so powerful, that it tends to be fatal for the bender and some rare forms that just kill them instantly," she looked at him as she took another sip, putting her hand onto the bar. "The full moon is when a bender is at their strongest as it's the time when the Goddess Selene can be with her lover, the God Poseidon."

Captain Morgan eyed her choker. "Is that what the necklace is for?"

"No, this is called a Betrothal Necklace," she explained, lightly touching the one resting on her neck. "This is my mother's from when she was younger. She didn't want anything to do with her old life so she gave it to me when I was a little girl."

Captain Morgan opened his mouth to say something when a loud screech rang across the bar. Both of them looked over and saw a _very _large and _very _angry mob of women glaring at them. Soon, they were surrounded by women at the bar.

"Morgan! Explain what this is all about!" one woman shouted, her blonde hair tied back into a low ponytail.

"You had this many women in this town alone?"

Captain Morgan looked at them, flashing a charming smile. "Calm down. Why don't we all have a drink first?" he offered but this fell on deaf ears as the women continued to rant and shout at him.

"And you appear as suddenly as you disappear…"

Reyna smirked at the captain, taking a few sips from her drink when one of the women addressed her with angry eyes.

"So, who are you? What are you to Morgan?" they demanded and she looked at them unimpressed.

"I'm a victim," she answered simply, having a couple more sips and ignoring the look Captain Morgan was shooting at her. "I was tricked too."

"But you look happy at his side…"

Reyna shot them a look of disbelief. "Are you high or something?"

"What do you see in this little kid?!"

Captain Morgan had enough and tried to salvage the situation as best as he could. "Stop yelling, I feel bad for you all, but," he looked towards Reyna. "Meeting her has made me realise true love."

Reyna almost spat out her drink.

Captain Morgan pulled her closer, smiling charmingly at the women who stared at them both in suspicion. "If you cared for me, you'd be happy for us, right? I've finally been able to achieve peace of mind."

"What are you talking about?" she hissed at him, elbowing Captain Morgan in the rib but he barely flinched and put his mouth close to her ear.

"Just keep quiet and play along!" he whispered to her softly. "Or else they'll seriously hurt me!"

"That's your own damn fault!" she whispered back, glaring at him and saw the pleading look in his eyes. Reyna glared once more before rolling her eyes. "You owe me for this," she whispered quietly and turned around, smiling warmly at the women.

"We're deeply in love, right?" Captain Morgan asked Reyna who pulled closer to him, putting on her best smile.

"Yes, he carved this Betrothal Necklace for me," Reyna lied through her teeth, placing a hand over it and smiling at the women, ignoring the fact that Morgan was taking advantage of the situation and holding her hand. "Among my people, this is a very serious commitment."

"If you're in love, then I have nothing else to say…" one woman murmured sadly and they soon said similar things.

"You all understand?" Captain Morgan beamed. "Thank you!"

They all turned and glared at him. "No, not even one bit!"

"I knew it!" Captain Morgan clucked his tongue, getting up from the bar. "Let's run, Reyna!"

Reyna knew a lost cause when she saw one and stood up, throwing the water onto the floor and lightly turning it into ice, making the women slip and fall while she and Captain Morgan dashed out of the bar.

"So you really are falling for me," Captain Morgan smirked as they ran down the street, hearing the women who didn't slip shout after them.

"It's called acting for a reason, Captain," she shot down his smile and glanced over her shoulder, watching more women run after them. "This is your fault!"

"Gah, I completely forgot they were in this town," he grumbled as they ran, dodging the crowd.

Reyna looked at him incredulously. "_How _could you forget so many of them?!" she exclaimed in disbelief as they ran up a hill. Reyna spotted a large woman carrying a heavy load. Looking closer, she saw it was…

"Fuzzy from the Rika?!" Captain Morgan said in surprise and Reyna groaned loudly as they paused in their run.

"That means…" she broke off as Alan appeared at Fuzzy's side, looking at Reyna in surprise.

"Oh! It's you!" he smiled charmingly. "You came running to see me?"

"I ran because of them," Reyna pointed to the large mob of women running towards them at the bottom of the hill.

Alan looked over and let out a low whistle. "Seriously? You're being chased by all those women? And you have Reyna by your side…you're one lucky man!"

"What can I say? I have what women want," Captain Morgan said and Reyna scoffed.

"A large ego?" she guessed and he shot her a look, suggesting it wasn't the time for those comments.

"Either way, move!" Captain Morgan demanded Alan who glared at him.

"I refuse! I wish for you to be pummelled by those women and then I can steal Reyna," he answered passionately and Reyna groaned, looking for some water around the area as Captain Morgan drew his sword at Alan.

_The grass, it must have rained recently, _Reyna noticed and summoned the water from the grass, killing it slightly in the process, and sent it straight down to the woman bellow, knocking them off of their feet. With the women taken care of for the moment, Reyna turned back to the fight and yelped in surprise, covering her eyes immediately.

"Alan, your trousers!" Reyna exclaimed, her eyes covered.

"What about my trousers? You want me to take them off?" Alan asked her and if Reyna wasn't covering her eyes, she would have punched him. "You devilish lass, you."

"That's not what I'm saying you idiot! Your belt was cut and I can see your drawers," she replied bluntly and heard Alan shouting in surprise, discovering what she said was true. When she heard the sounds of his trousers being pulled up, Reyna uncovered her eyes.

"Reyna, now's our chance, run!" Captain Morgan sprinted past Alan and Reyna followed closely behind. Alan and Fuzzy's shouts were drowned out by the screams from the women and Reyna shook her head.

"I think you only made the situation worse," she told him, breathing hard from the running and use of bending.

Captain Morgan grinned at her. "Don't fret over small details, here," he suddenly grabbed hold of her and carried Reyna bridal style. "It's better this way than to have you scurrying around me. So hold on tight."

Reyna looked at his face, watching in interest as he looked ahead with determination. Her heart fluttered a little before she dismissed the feeling and sighed.

_I knew that he was irresponsible, I can't this anymore, I want to go home!_

* * *

**I know that the Selene and Posideon were never lovers. I AM AN ANCIENT HISTORY STUDENT AND A WALKING GREEK GOD DICTIONARY! But it's fanfic and I couldn't think of any other water-themed gods so yeah...that's it.**


	4. Chapter 3 - Innocence

**Chapter Three:**

**Innocence**

_As you can see, your father isn't the man he is today and the reason why the Sirius doesn't stop at the Port of Laon often as Yamato. Honestly, your father can face down an eight-headed hydra but he can't face an angry mob of women? Lucius, you may laugh now._

_When we were facing the eight-headed hydra of the Cursed Delta, I was afraid. Not just because of the hydra, but I was worried about the Sirius crew's safety. Lucius, you know that our people have a special language now forgotten to those outside of Iciuis. It's a powerful language, filled with magic that depends on the heart of the user. Words of Power, as your grandmother calls it. Because of my upbringing, I never had to use it until that moment when Thomas was almost thrown into the ocean and the hydra had almost killed the crew._

_There's a reason why our people don't use it as it drains more energy from the bender than the energy required for bending itself. At the time, I didn't know that..._

**oOo**

Reyna occasionally froze some more water onto the ground as Captain Morgan ran, carrying her in his arms. Every time the women, Alan and Fuzzy kept slipping over, it bought them time to escape.

"Where have you been all my life?" Captain Morgan asked Reyna as she froze the ground once more, using water from a fountain they passed. "You could have come in handy in the past!"

Reyna glared at him. "I honestly felt bad for you but brought on this yourself, Captain Morgan!" she snapped at him and he just grinned as they drew closer to the docks, finding Thomas with the others.

Thomas looked at them in surprise. "Captain?! Miss Reyna?!"

"What are you doing?" Russell shouted at them and Captain Morgan clucked his tongue in annoyance.

"Just shut up and run!" he ordered at them, running past and they followed, Thomas glancing back and finding the angry mob of women, Alan and Fuzzy.

"Whoa! A gang of women are charging towards us!" he exclaimed in wonder.

"Hurry and run!"

Russell shook his head, running beside Eduardo just behind Captain Morgan. "I understand women chasing you, but why is Alan after you too?"

"Don't try and understand Russell," Reyna told him with a sigh, glancing over Captain Morgan's side for another source of water, not liking how close they were catching up. "It'll just hurt your head."

"Reyna, what are you looking for?" Christopher called, watching her look around past the captain.

"Some water," she answered and Thomas glanced behind him.

"Miss Reyna! A bucket of water over by that fruit vendor!" Thomas pointed out and Reyna looked over, finding it and gripping Captain Morgan's shirt tightly with one hand, reaching out with the other.

"It's out of range a bit, but I'll try," she murmured, concentrating and gripping on his shirt harder. The water responded to her call and tipped the bucket onto its side, the water spilling everywhere on the concrete path. Even as she started to feel weak, she forced the water to freeze and slumped back into the captain's arms.

"Reyna, are you okay?" Christopher ran beside Captain Morgan, closer to her and saw how weak and slightly pale she looked.

"I'm fine," she answered, panting slightly and squeezing her eyes shut for a moment.

"You like to be carried, don't you?" Eduardo's teasing tone snapped her out of her weakness and she glared at him from over Captain Morgan's side.

"Like hell I do!" she shouted at him and Nathan sighed, shaking his head at her sudden energy. They passed the main street and the harbour came into view.

"Morgan! Are you taking off without an explanation again?!" one of the women shouted as they crew sprinted towards the Sirius.

"Remember this the next time you come to Laon!"

Captain Morgan threw his head back, laughing. "Sorry to break your hearts again! The next time I come, I'll share my love with all of you!"

_Saying things like that is what caused all of this in the first place, _Reyna thought with a tired sigh, feeling slightly weak from the energy drain. As soon as the crew arrived on board the Sirius, Morgan placed Reyna onto her feet.

When everyone was on board the ship, the Sirius sailed away from the Port of Laon. To make the trip quicker, Reyna helped to bend the water, pushing the Sirius further away from the port.

"A popular man has his woes," Captain Morgan laughed as Reyna finished bending, finding they were far enough. She stumbled slightly, weak and tired from her efforts and Christopher was at her side in an instant.

"Reyna, you shouldn't push yourself," he scolded her, forcing her to sit down and catch her breath as she watched the captain wave to the women at the harbor.

"I'm fine," she waved off his concern as Nathan appeared with some water and handed it to her.

"Here, Doc said it might help you," he said and she took it, drinking huge gulps and feeling the energy come back to her. She shot him a grateful smile and Christopher watched her, making sure she drank every last drop.

"Done, will you stop fussing?" she showed him the empty tankard and Nathan took it when Christopher was satisfied. He didn't look impressed as she stood up, breathing in deeply.

**oOo**

As they sailed away, the sky began to darken and Eduardo looked up at the sky, frowning. "This isn't good…"

Nathan sniffed the air. "Smells like rain," he commented and Reyna felt a shiver run down her spine. Suddenly, it began to down pour and everything turned to chaos.

"Eduardo, the ocean is starting to churn!" Thomas informed the navigator who didn't look too happy about the sudden development.

"There's going to be a storm. Let the Captain know," he ordered Thomas from the steering wheel as Captain Morgan came out from the cabin.

"A storm, eh? I can smell a bad wind coming," Captain Morgan scratched his chin, heading over to where Russell, Thomas and I stood on the deck.

"Captain, it's going to be pretty rough," Eduardo informed him and Captain Morgan nodded in agreement.

"Looks like it," he agreed and looked towards Thomas, Russell and Reyna. "Russel, clear the deck! Thomas, secure the cargo!"

"Aye!" they both nodded before running off to do their assigned roles as Captain Morgan looked at Reyna who crossed her arms over her chest.

"Reyna, get inside," he told her and she snorted at him.

"Do you think I'll get inside while _this_," she pointed to the huge waves as the rain poured down onto the Sirius. "Is going on?"

"You're still weak from earlier," he pointed out and she glared at him with a stubborn look on her face. Captain Morgan looked at Christopher for support and the doctor looked in between them before sighing.

"Don't push yourself," he advised Reyna who nodded and set herself in the middle of the deck, freezing her feet slightly.

"Captain, there's a large whirlpool approaching. I'm guessing it's the Cursed Delta," Eduardo called as a wave came close to the Sirius but Reyna managed to push to away.

"The Cursed Delta?" Reyna asked, pushing another wave further away. If there was a whirlpool, she needed to know.

"A large whirlpool that is said to swallow up all ships," Captain Morgan answered, watching her go with cautious eyes. "I heard that it was around here."

Reyna unfroze her feet and looked out at the ocean, seeing a large whirlpool spreading in the direction where the ship was heading. With her eyes widened, she shook her head and looked back at the captain. "We can try to ride the waves or I could try and push up away from it."

Christopher and Thomas looked at her worriedly. "Reyna, you know that's dangerous," Christopher told her as she resumed her earlier position in the middle of the deck.

"Then think of something else or I'm going to do it!" she shouted, pushing another wave off of the ship.

"Eduardo, starboard helm!" Captain Morgan began shouting orders to everyone. "Russell and Thomas go portside and Christopher and Nathan starboard!"

Everyone disbanded to their assigned areas as Captain Morgan turned to her, seeing the warning look on her face as she looked at him, her blue eyes filled with defiance. "Reyna…"

"No," she told him firmly and he sighed before giving her a serious look.

"Don't push yourself," he repeated Christopher's earlier order and she nodded, focussing on her task just as the ship rocked heavily. Reyna stumbled a bit before catching herself.

"Something is coming out of the middle of the whirlpool!" Thomas shouted and Reyna ran up to the bow of the ship, her eyes widening at the sight that was before her. A giant, eight-headed hydra was emerging from the middle of the whirlpool. The heads reminded her of snake ones as they towered over, close to the Sirius.

"Reyna!" someone shouted as she looked at the hydra once more before running back to the deck.

"It's been a while since I've fought one, this should be fun," Captain Morgan laughed and Reyna looked at him in disbelief. "Everyone, prepare for battle. We are going to make it out of this storm alive."

"Aye, Captain!"

Reyna pushed the water away from the hydra, trying to put as much distance as she could but it didn't seemed to do much as the monster's neck hit the side of the ship and rocked the crew tremendously.

Reyna stumbled a bit as Thomas's body flew from the impact. "Thomas!" she shouted, running over and bending the water on the deck, reaching it towards him and freezing it. Thomas hit the ice and slid down, landing on the deck on his feet.

"Wow…that was close. Thanks, Miss Reyna," Thomas said and she nodded at him just as Nathan shouted at her.

"The far-left head is aiming for you!" Russell shouted over the roar of the ocean and rain. Reyna looked over and her eyes met with the far-left head and she swallowed the lump in her throat.

Looking around, everyone was trying their hardest to fight off the monster…Thomas almost died…she had to do something….

Without thinking of another plan, Reyna ran out to the middle of the deck and clasped her hands together, holding them close to her chest. "(The feelings I kept deep inside are now screaming at the top of their lungs. Trying to voice our now infinite vow!)"

The ocean followed her voice, hitting the ship slightly before calming down around the Sirius only. "(I've wandered all my life, relying on a whim and that has led me astray. Light has become my foe…defying everything while my future fades away!)"

Reyna held her clasped hands above her head, closing her eyes and feeling the power encircle around her, draining. "(Tonight the moon invites me to the night sky. But my lips hesitate to voice a reply. But even so I'm screaming from the depths of my heart!)"

Giant waves of water froze in the ocean, the tips becoming sharp and embedding itself into the hydra. The high pitched scream and hiss from the monster echoed all across the ocean. "(The feelings I kept deep inside are now screaming at the top of their lungs. Trying to voice our now infinite vow. My strength has brought me this far but if I only had a little bit more…my aim would be an endless blue sky bound by no limitations at all! And when tomorrow reaches out once again…I'll hear its beckoning call…)"

Reyna gasped at the drain and almost fell to her knees but somehow managed to force herself to finish the spell. Her mother once warned her that once starting the spell, one had to finish it.

"(Inside my heart and memory you linger. I'll never let this chance slip through my fingers,)" Reyna unclasped her hands, putting them close to her chest while making a circle with her hands. "(You give me strength so I feel I can't break through….I'll think of you…)"

Her eyes opened as she glared at the hydra. "(If somehow light becomes your foe and you're once again immersed in the dark. Know that the love in your heart knows the way. The feelings I kept deep inside will call destiny to open the skies and as the heavens call out I know I'll find the path that leads me to you. The feelings I kept deep inside are now screaming at the top their lungs! Trying to voice our now infinite vow! My strength has brought me this far but if only I had a little bit more, my aim would be an endless blue sky bound by no limitations at all…)"

As one of the heads tried to grab and sink its teeth into her, a huge gust of water erupted from the ocean, capturing its head and freezing it. ("And when tomorrow reaches out once again, I'll hear its beckoning call…)"

When the last word escaped her lips, Reyna felt herself collapse onto the ground in exhaustion, no strength left in her body. She heard Thomas shouting about another head aiming for her, but Reyna could see. She could barely move, let alone turn her head to look.

She squeezed her eyes shut, expecting the pain when all she heard was a clang in front of her. Weakly, she looked over slowly and saw Captain Morgan pushing the hydra's head back with his hand, sword drawn.

"I'm your opponent today," he shouted at the hydra and glanced briefly back at Reyna who laid on the ground, pale and weak. "That was a dangerous move, Reyna."

Reyna blinked slowly, watching as Captain Morgan grabbed one of Russell's swords and jumped high into the air, landing on one of the hydra's heads.

_Is he…he's going to fight them alone? _She thought in disbelief before slowly losing conscious.

**oOo**

Something was pressing against her lips, a liquid being forced down her throat. Reyna instinctively swallowed before opening her eyes, coughing as the pressure of her lips disappeared.

"What happened?" she groaned, trying to sit up but was still too weak. She looked up at the sky and saw it was clear and late afternoon. "Where are we?"

"Out of the storm," Thomas answered brightly as she tried to sit up, only to be picked up and carried bridal style by Captain Morgan.

"Put me down!" Reyna demanded, trying to struggle very weakly but Captain Morgan shot her an amused look. "I swear to God, if you take advantage of a weak girl then you're going to hell."

"Reyna, that was dangerous and you know it," Christopher scolded, feeling her forehead and finding it slightly warmer than usual. "You're on bed rest for two days."

Reyna groaned in protest, leaning into the captain since she couldn't do much in her weakened state. _I thought he was irresponsible and a womanizer, _she thought, realising that they wouldn't have been able to escape the storm or the hydra without the captain. _But he truly is the world's best pirate…_

"Reyna, good job," Captain Morgan praised her, looking down at her in his arms. "You saved Thomas; you protected your fellow mate with your life. That makes you a true Sirius crew member."

"Thank you very much, Miss Reyna!" Thomas expressed enthusiastically as Captain Morgan ruffled my loose hair. Reyna felt her heart flutter once more with a feeling she had never felt before.

_Am…am I happy that Captain praised me? _She wondered thoughtfully as his eyes softened, looking into hers.

"That was quite a scare, wasn't it? But you're okay now," Captain Morgan reassured her and she nodded weakly.

"I'm fine…" she broke off with a murmur. _I thought he was just a scumbag; maybe he's not so bad after all. He's a captain that protected his ship and crew…_

"I do think you're amazing," Reyna admitted to him, looking into his eyes. "For defeating a large monster."

Captain Morgan grinned at her. "Right? I don't blame you for falling in love with me."

"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!"

Captain Morgan pouted slightly. "You just can't be honest with your feelings, right? You're so adorable."

"What feelings?! I'm telling you, you're wrong!" Reyna exclaimed, feeling the energy come back to her slightly.

"It's suspicious if you deny it when you're blushing," he laughed loudly. "Looks like I won't be sleeping much tonight!"

Reyna groaned, covering her face with her hands. "Please don't say things like that so loudly!" she recalled the pressure on her lips earlier and stared at the captain in horror. "YOU KISSED ME!"

"We'll pretend we don't hear anything, so don't worry," Russell told her, grinning and to make things worse, everyone joined in.

"I don't think you can handle Captain," Eduardo smirked at her.

Nathan sighed tiredly, shaking his head. "Please don't have a lover's quarrel in the middle of the night."

"If that's what Reyna wants, I won't stop you," Christopher rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and Reyna shot Thomas a pleading look.

Thomas was blushing madly. "I didn't hear anything!" he declared and Reyna went bright red, shaking her head violently.

"It's not like that! Don't say weird shit!" she shouted while shaking in Captain Morgan's arms as he laughed deeply.

"I'm such a sinful man!" he chuckled and Reyna covered her face in her hands, trying to hide as best as she could.

_To think I was impressed with him, I want to go home to Yamato after all!_


	5. Chapter 4 - Roar

**Chapter Four:**

**Roar**

_Sometimes it was hard to see your father for the man he truly is, not the egotistical, womanizing scumbag he masked but the kind, loyal, clever and strong man he is deep down. I often found myself questioning his sanity as he took advantage of the fact that I was weak from the spell when facing the hydra. Often cuddling me in bed while I tried to weakly fight him off._

_It wasn't until I ordered Christopher to tell him to piss off did I finally recover. But when he left my side, I felt anxious and torn. At the time I didn't know why I felt those things but it wasn't until your grandmother explained it to me. When your father kissed me, stealing my first kiss, it created a bond that is sacred among our people. _

_Neither of us knew it at the time but something deep was slowly emerging between us, something the not even a roar of a tiger could scare off…_

**oOo**

Reyna stretched her arms above her head after finishing her morning ritual, breathing in the fresh air. "Freedom, it's never tasted so good," she sighed happily and Thomas chuckled as he finished cleaning the deck while Russell smirked at her.

"It's good that you're feeling better, Miss Reyna," Thomas said as Captain Morgan and the others came on deck while Eduardo steered the ship into another port.

"We're stopping here at Aqua to fix the ship," Captain Morgan announced and they all climbed off the Sirius as soon as ship was docked at the port. Once again, Reyna walked beside Thomas with Russell on the other side of him.

"This town is pretty run down," Thomas noticed and Reyna hummed in agreement.

"There aren't many fishing boats either," Nathan commented, walking beside Reyna. "Looks impoverished."

"Either way, go find a shipwright who can fix the ship. We'll stay here until the ship is fixed," Captain Morgan informed the crew as Reyna looked around, not liking how depressed the town was.

"We should start by talking to the townspeople," Christopher suggested and Captain Morgan grinned.

"I want to drink, too. I'll be at the bar," he told them and placed an arm around Reyna's shoulders. "Reyna, come with me."

Reyna looked at him warily, throwing his arm off of her shoulder and crossing her arms over her chest. "Are you _sure _no mob of women will attack us?" she asked him as they began walking off. The Sirius crew overheard her and she could hear a few snickers as she and the captain walked off.

Captain Morgan gave her a look of mock hurt. "Reyna, how could you doubt me so much?"

"You've already checked, haven't you?"

"Of course."

Reyna just shook her head as they entered the tavern, heading over to the bar as Captain Morgan ordered a glass of water.

"That'll be ten copper coins, sir," the waitress informed Captain Morgan who looked at her in disbelief.

"How could a glass of water cost ten copper coins?!" he demanded in outrage and Reyna sighed, shaking her head at his behaviour in public.

"I'm sorry, sir. Water is scarce here," the waitress apologised and Reyna frowned at that answer.

"But I saw a large waterfall at the edge of the town. Can't you drink that water?" Reyna asked and the waitress flushed with embarrassment, looking awkward between them.

"Well, that's…um…"

"Gah, what a scam!" Captain Morgan complained, banging his fist onto the bar and Reyna shot him a warning look. The waitress let out a surprised squeak and her eyes darted to the floor.

"Sorry…" she mumbled and Reyna gave her a sympathetic look. She noticed how evasive the waitress was with her answer and wondered what on earth was going on.

"Please don't pick on her," a woman with jet black hair tied into a low bun and brown eyes spoke, appearing from the back room. She looked around thirty-three but still beautiful.

By the shocked look on Captain Morgan's face, Reyna could only assume she was a victim to the Sirius captain. "You're…"

She glanced at Morgan. "It's been a while, Morgan," she stated coolly. "Are you still wandering about, as usual?"

Reyna covered her mouth as she laughed quietly, watching Captain Morgan and the owner interact with interest.

"Shoot…" he grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. "It was your town."

"Aren't all port towns the same for you?" the owner shot at him and Reyna was barely containing her laughter. "The home of many broken hearts…"

Captain Morgan shot Reyna an unimpressed look as she continued to laugh quietly beside him. "Are you going to lecture me again?"

"I can't help it," the owner shrugged her shoulders and Reyna lost it, laughing hard and lightly banging her fist against the counter. The owner noticed her and her eyes widened in surprise. "Oh? You're…." she broke off and looked at Captain Morgan in surprise. "You've gone for someone younger than usual…"

That stopped Reyna's laughter at once.

"No, we're not like that," she groaned, shaking her head in annoyance and the owner flashed her a knowing smile.

"I know, I know. This is Morgan we're talking about," the owner waved it off and ignored Captain Morgan, turning her full attention to Reyna. "He doesn't put it into words, right? He's sneaky like that."

The owner began to pat Reyna's shoulder in sympathy and Reyna sighed tiredly. _He must really be a womanizer…_

Captain Morgan looked annoyed by their exchange. "Forget about me. So, why is the water in this town so expensive? Is that waterfall out at the back just for show?"

"Well, the Winston Family, who runs this town recently had their son take over," the owner explained and Captain Morgan frowned.

"The owner of that manor on the mountain?" he asked and she nodded in confirmation.

"That's right. The previous owner was a good man but his spoiled son is greedy. He is controlling the dam and restricting the water flow into this town. The amount of water you get is determined by how much you pay him," the owner explained with a tired tone and Reyna looked at them in outrage.

"He can't do that!" she exclaimed in anger. "Water is an essential given by the gods! Everyone is entitled to it!"

Captain Morgan placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down. "Don't get so worked up over it," he told her calmly but she shrugged it off, glaring at the bar in anger. "And that's why a cup of water costs as much as a cup of alcohol."

"I want to do something about it but it's hard to win against the rich," the owner sighed and Captain Morgan clucked his tongue in annoyance.

"How annoying…forget the water, bring me booze," he told the waitress who nodded and went to fill him a cup. As the owner went to leave, she tapped Reyna on the shoulder.

"I've never seen Morgan bring in a girl like you," she smiled in amusement. "Perhaps Morgan is serious this time."

Reyna frowned in confusion. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Morgan is just lonely," she explained in a hush tone. "That's why he goes from woman to woman," she tapped Reyna's hands lightly. "I'm putting Morgan in your hands," she murmured before returning out the back.

_I wouldn't know what to do with him in my hands, _Reyna sighed, biting her bottom lip with a conflicted look on her face.

Captain Morgan noticed it. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she shook her head, lightly touching her choker. "For someone to charge others for water….is a horrible man in my eyes…." She broke off in deep thought.

**oOo**

Nathan ended up finding someone who could fix the ship so the crew returned to the Sirius for the time being. As they walked, Reyna couldn't help but look at the town with pained eyes.

"Because there is a shortage of water, this place seems lifeless," she murmured quietly and Captain Morgan, walking beside her, looked at her with a look of understanding.

"It's like you said, water is a necessity. Once it's no longer freely obtainable, you lose spirit," he said and she clenched her fists at her sides. The urge to head to the damn and break the walls was running high through her mind.

As they began walking the main street of the market, a boy bumped into Captain Morgan's leg, surprising the two of them.

"Whoa!" Captain Morgan caught the boy and stabled him. "Are you okay?"

The young boy, with copper hair and hazel eyes, looked up at Captain Morgan with apologetic eyes. "I-I'm so sorry!" he apologised immediately and Reyna noticed how thin he was.

"You look weak," Captain Morgan commented as Reyna knelt down, placing her cool hand on the boy's forehead. "Does he have a fever?"

"No, I'm just hungry…" the boy replied as Reyna withdrew her hand, looking at the boy in shock.

"Oh my god, when was the last time you ate?" she asked him gently and he shook his head.

"Oh, it's not that there isn't enough food. I have a lot of younger brothers," he explained quickly and Reyna frowned at him.

"You're working to feed them?" she asked and he nodded.

"Yes, we lost our parents at sea. I need to take care of them."

_He's barely old enough to work…_Reyna looked up at Captain Morgan with worried eyes and he saw this before digging into his coin purse with a warm smile on his face.

"Hey, do you know where I can find the best bread in town?" he asked the young lad who nodded.

"Um, yes," he replied and pointed further down the street. "You can go down this street and go left."

Captain Morgan frowned, thinking about it. "I'm not used to this place. Could you go buy it for me?"

Both Reyna and the young boy looked at him in confusion, until a knowing smile spread on Reyna's face. She knew what he was doing as he handed the boy a gold coin.

"Here's some money. You can keep the change for your trouble," he told the young lad who looked at the gold coin in surprise.

"This is too much!" he exclaimed, looking at Reyna worriedly while Captain Morgan shrugged his shoulders indifferently.

"I don't have anything smaller. I used it all up at the bar," he explained and the boy still looked conflicted.

Reyna shot him a reassuring smile, her eyes softened as she ruffled his hair. "It'll help me a lot, I'm carrying for two," she told him quietly, patting her flat stomach and the boy's eyes widened and nodded, running off down the street.

"Carrying for two, eh?" Captain Morgan smirked as she stood up and she elbowed him in the ribs. He saw her looking at him softly and raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"You're so kind," she commented, crossing her arms over her chest but Captain Morgan just shot her a confused look.

"What are you talking about? I just wanted some good bread," he shrugged off her comment and she sighed, shaking her head and looking out down the street.

_I know he's just saying that…_ she thought as the young lad returned with a large brown paper bag in one hand and a lot of coins in the other.

"I brought the bread!" he exclaimed, handing the bread to Reyna who beamed at him. She looked inside and smelt the freshly baked bread.

"Oh, thanks, kid. You bought a lot," Captain Morgan commented, looking into the bag as Reyna held it out to him.

The boy was frowning a little bit. "But I can't accept so much change…"

"I don't need it back. We're in a hurry," Captain Morgan ruffled his hair before walking ahead briskly. "Let's go, Reyna!"

Reyna shook her head at him before kneeling down and touching her choker with two fingers before tracing and right side up crescent moon on the young lad's forehead. "May fortune and happiness smile upon you," she smiled, kissing his forehead before getting up and following Captain Morgan.

"What was that back there?" he asked her curiously as she glanced back, finding the boy bowing his head deeply and lightly touching his brow.

"A blessing," she answered simply, grinning and poking him in the arm. "You still owe me a shopping trip, remember?"

**oOo**

"We're going to loot the treasures of the Winston Manor!" Captain Morgan declared as soon as we returned to the Sirius. Reyna, who was dressed in a pair of trousers that fitted her nicely and a white blouse with a dark blue fabric wrapped around her waist, looked at the captain with an eyebrow raised.

"I heard about him in town," Russell commented from beside Reyna. "Sounds like a real scumbag."

"I can't forgive him for controlling the dam and selling the rights to distribute water," Christopher nodded in agreement.

Captain Morgan snorted. "I don't care about that. I just heard that there are rare treasures in Winston Manor. So we'll take them all."

Reyna shot Captain Morgan a disgusted look and walked away, heading to the captain's quarters and slamming the door. She was angry, angry at the water restrictions, angry at Captain Morgan for not caring and most of all…angry at herself.

_I could just march over to the dam and break it easily, _she grumbled to herself, sitting on the chair that had now become her special spot. It often helped her to think and calmed her down slightly, that and it was comfortable as hell. _But I'm still not strong enough. I need to know more forms, have a bigger stamina…_

The door opened and Reyna looked over, seeing it was Captain Morgan entering the room and she looked away, hugging her knees close to her chest.

"How do you not care about the dam?" she asked after a while, giving him a glare.

Captain Morgan shrugged his shoulders. "A kid like you doesn't understand what pirates live for."

"You're right, I _don't _understand," she spat at him, seeing that he was watching her carefully. "You're just someone who goes around, grabbing treasure one after another. Something like this wouldn't worry _you _of all people."

"Why are you bothered by this anyway? The dam doesn't concern you."

Reyna clucked her tongue in disapproval, standing up and walking to the door before glancing back at him with hard eyes. "A pirate like you doesn't understand what benders live for," she replied before walking out.

**oOo**

When Reyna woke up the next morning, finding some clothes laid out on her special chair with a note on the top, she wasn't as mad at the captain as before. The clothing were grey tights with a light blue skirt with the sides cut all the way up to the waist band, exposing her tights. A white long sleeved shirt that puffed on her arms but were tightly sewed with light brown and blue beads on her wrist as well as some simple brown leather boots.

Reyna looked at the clothes in awe, recognising the patterns on the wrists of the shirt and knew these were Iciuis inspired clothing. She picked up the note and read it:

_Wear these – CM_

She couldn't help but let out a small smile as she changed into the clothing and found a brown leather belt with a water skin attached to it on the side. Reyna attached the belt to her waist, feeling it was already filled with water before leaving the cabin.

"Miss Reyna, you look beautiful!" Thomas said in awe as she finished braiding her hair and she smiled at him.

"Thanks," she said softly as the Sirius crew left the ship and went to strike the manor. Reyna loved the feeling of the clothing, feeling comfortable and flexible enough to move around.

When they arrived at the Winston Manor, Christopher and Nathan immediately knocked out the security guards at the gate and inside as they entered the manor.

They went through room by room, the crew looking for treasure while Reyna looked around for a switch for the damn or something. Finally, they entered a huge room that seemed to be a bedroom. Elaborate furnishing, curtains….a lot of expensive and valuable jewels in one room.

"This looks like a good place to hide a treasure," Captain Morgan commented as a man dressed in noble clothing walked out of the bathroom, jumping in surprise to see them.

"What the…who are you men?!" he demanded and Reyna assumed it was Lord Winston.

"We're just some pirates passing through," Captain Morgan answered simply, grinning at how pale Lord Winston's face became when he saw that they were indeed, pirates. "We heard you've been enjoying a good living, so we thought we should get in on that."

Lord Winston's face filled with outrage. "Wh-What you are doing is robbery!" he exclaimed profusely. "Where…where are my security guards?!"

"All of them are sound asleep, like babies," Russell answered; crossing his arms over his chest and shook his head in mock disappointment. "Probably, overslept. Incompetent guards."

Lord Winston didn't like that one bit while Captain Morgan just simply looked at him. "Next time, I suggest you hire guards who can wake up on time."

"You…you filth!"

"Filth?" Captain Morgan laughed. "I'll take that as a compliment. Crew, take the treasure!" he ordered as the Sirius crew began looking around, stuffing sacks full of precious items and treasures.

Captain Morgan sat down on the bench of the room and opened up a bottle on the table. Reyna stood by a window, arms crossed over her chest as she looked out the window, not comfortable with this operation.

"Do you think you'll get away with this?" Lord Winston demanded, his face red with anger and embarrassment.

"We're pirates. Of course we will," Captain Morgan answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"If we were worried about getting caught, we wouldn't be pirates in the first place!" Russell called as he stuffed some gold into a sack.

Captain Morgan laughed in agreement. "Russell is right, Reyna," he called, getting her attention. "Pour me a drink, will you?"

Reyna sighed, getting off of the wall and walking over towards him. "Sure…" she murmured, sitting next to him and poured some wine into a cup. _Even if he's a scumbag, should we really steal from him? I just wanted to destroy the dam…_

"Captain, we've collected most of the valuables," Nathan informed Captain Morgan while Lord Winston was shouting in protest.

Captain Morgan had a sip of the wine and looked at the noble with his eyes full of suspicion. "Hey, you're not hiding a room, are you?" he asked, getting up and grabbing Lord Winston's chin and forced his head up.

"No! I don't have a hidden room!" Lord Winston exclaimed passionately and Reyna could tell he lying, so did the others.

"I can see that you're lying," Captain Morgan threw Lord Winston away and looked at the others. "Search the room! Carefully!"

Reyna gazed out the window and saw the dam from where she sat. _There's the dam, but I wonder if we can open it up somehow. Just so that the townspeople could use their water freely…_

"A door…it's a trick door," Eduardo announced, pulling Reyna's thoughts away from the dam and towards the men.

"Not that door!" Lord Winston wailed and Captain Morgan grinned.

"Thanks for the honest response. Eduardo, Christopher, can you open it?" he asked them and Christopher nodded, switching some kind of pictures around on the wall.

"It's a simple image-matching door," the doctor informed him as he put the last picture in place and the wall slid open. "See? It's open."

"Don't go in there! The control switch for the dam is in that room!" Lord Winston shouted and caught Reyna's attention as she suddenly threw water at him, pinning him to the wall and freezing it.

"Now see, you've pissed off the worse kind of woman in the world," Russell grinned, seeing Reyna glare at the noble furiously. Captain Morgan walked over and peered into the room.

"So you used this machine to control the flow of the water, eh? You took elaborate steps to prevent water from reaching the townspeople," Captain Morgan said with an impressed tone.

"Please don't break the control switch!" Lord Winston wailed desperately, trying to break free of his ice prison. "I'll give you any treasure you want!"

"Hm, you really don't want me to?" Captain Morgan asked, smirking and then shaking his head. "You should really be asking the lady you've pissed off."

Lord Winston turned to Reyna, pleading with her as she glared at him. "I beg you! I'll give you anything else!"

Reyna studied him for a long moment before unfreezing the water and he slumped to the ground, grinning. The grin fell from Lord Winston's face quickly however, when Reyna bended the water, making it sharper, and destroyed the control switch.

Outside, the dam's walls burst and the water flowed freely.

"No! My precious treasure!" Lord Winston wailed and received a slap across the face from Reyna as she glowered at him, feeling her anger rise.

"Water is everyone's treasure," she spat at him as Captain Morgan stood beside her.

"You need to learn the pain of being denied water," Captain Morgan told him as they turned and left the manor. As they left the Winston Manor, the water from the dam had brought life back to Aqua when they reached the town.

A huge smile was planted on her face as they stopped by a water fountain, watching children dance around it happily. "When the water flows through this town, it's so beautiful."

"This is how the real Aqua looks," Christopher agreed as Russell ruffled my hair with a grin.

"Remind me to never get on your bad side," he teased and she playfully threw water at him. "Hey!"

"You're always on my bad side," she laughed at him, dodging his fist as the rest of the crew laughed. Soon Thomas joined in and he and Russell began throwing water at each other as the others watched.

"Oops, I guess I went too far," Captain Morgan whistled loudly and Reyna frowned at him.

"Wasn't this what you meant to do in the first place?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Captain Morgan just gave her a weird look. "You think too highly of me. I'm a pirate, I only think of myself."

"I see…" she murmured, not believing it one bit and he saw that in her eyes.

"You think I'm a saint or something?"

Reyna shook her head, looking at the fountain. "I don't think…you're a bad person."

"I didn't think you'd say that about me."

"Neither did I," she admitted and he sighed.

"But as a pirate, that's problematic. But now," he clapped his hands together, grinning. "We can drink all the water we want! Maybe the booze will get cheaper, too!"

"The lives of the townspeople should improve now," Christopher assessed with a firm nod and Russel returned to the group with a wet Thomas.

"Doing good deeds is nice, once in a while," he commented and Thomas nodded in agreement.

"Hmph…it's good that we got treasure out of this," Eduardo shrugged and she sighed, shaking her head.

_I thought pirates were all bad men…but the Sirius crew is different, _she spared a glance at Captain Morgan who was staring at the town with a calm expression. _And Captain Morgan is a kind person inside….I probably don't know anything about the captain yet, just my own assumptions…._

Reyna shook her head as the others began walking off back to the Sirius. "What am I thinking?" she wondered out loud and went to follow them but someone grabbed her and quickly covered her mouth from behind.

"Keep quiet!" a voice hissed at her and her eyes widened.

* * *

**Forgot to mention, the chapters are basically the song I listened to when typing it up. For this one it was Roar by Katy Perry...enjoy...**


	6. Chapter 5 - Running Back

**Chapter Five:**

**Running Back**

_Family is important._

_It's always been important to me along with loyalty and doing what is right. That's why you don't see me stealing anything from people unless they're pirates. During my time on Sirius, I was homesick every moment of my life. From doing the morning ritual that reminded me of your grandmother, to looking at Thomas every day and seeing how similar he and your Uncle Aaron were._

_So when the navy kidnapped me, thinking I was kidnapped by the Sirius Pirates, my loyalty was tested. Back home in Yamato, we weren't rich and the crops were always affected by the weather. That's why I got a job when I was sixteen, to help support my family during the troubled times. I will admit, seeing the bounties on your father's head and the others tempted me. If they had presented it to me when I first got on the ship, I would have handed the crew straight over._

_But by then, I was hooked and drawn to the crew who were nothing if not kind to me. Yeah, some of them got on my nerves, (Eduardo, Russell and your father,) but every time I thought about it, it made me sick…_

**oOo**

"You're coming with us!"

Reyna's eyes widened as she was dragged off, further and further away from the fountain towards with her mouth covered and hand behind her back. Reyna struggled in their hold, her screams and shouts muffled as the hand pressed tighter on her mouth.

"Be still!" they ordered her but she continued to fight all the way until they dragged her to what looked like a barrack. As soon as they entered, the hands released her and Reyna spun around, glaring murderously.

_Why did they bring me here? Do they think I'm a pirate? _Reyna thought as she reached for the water in her water skin and found it empty.

"There's no water in here, you can't fight," a solider informed her and she glared at them, finding two soldiers standing at the entrance. "Sorry for treating you roughly. We didn't want them to notice."

Reyna still held her stance and narrowed her eyes at them. "You're the Imperial Navy," she stated, recognising the uniform that her step-father wore.

He nodded. "The men you were with. Do you know who they are?" he asked her and she stood up straight, glaring at him evenly.

"Yes…" she answered carefully, staring at them in the eye.

"Glad you're being honest with me. Good thing I brought you here," he admitted. "I know that they're the Sirius crew," he walked over as Reyna stayed silent, watching him grab some pieces of paper. "There are witnesses placing you with them at the bar."

Reyna's posture stiffened and the soldier assumed this as fear and shot her a reassuring smile. "You don't have to be so scared. I know that you're not one of them. Your people don't involve themselves into the politics and wars of the world. There's no way a child bender like you is a member of the Sirius."

"Then why did you bring me here?" she demanded of them as she ignored the child jab continued to watch him cautiously.

"I'm assuming you were kidnapped and forced to tag along with one of the pirates, right?"

"How is that any of your business?" she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest.

The navy soldier looked at her with soft eyes. "I'm offering to help you."

"What do you mean?" she asked him suspiciously as he put the pieces of paper onto the table in front of her.

"These are the wanted posters of the Sirius pirates," he explained as Reyna looked at them, eyes widened slightly as six pieces of paper with the letters, WANTED, on them held a portrait of everyone and a bounty. "Look at this amount," he pointed to the one of Captain Morgan.

"The bounty is…there are one, two, three, four zeros…." She broke off in surprise. "So much on them?"

"That's right," he nodded in confirmation. "You don't want to be bound by those horrible pirates anymore, right?"

Reyna looked at the pictures, conflicted. For some reason, she couldn't say no or even answer his question.

"If you help us capture the Sirius pirates, I'll hand over the entire bounty to you and will even take you back to Iciuis," the soldier offered and she looked at him, surprised and hopeful.

"Back…to…Iciuis?" she asked and then shook her head. "I…"

"If you have that much money you won't ever have to work again."

_My family I left behind in Yamato…if I get this money, they won't have to work so hard, _Reyna swallowed the lump in her throat and looked at the soldier. "Can I think about this? Alone, outside?"

He nodded. "Sure, it might affect your life, after all," his face turned serious. "But if you aren't brave now, you may get killed by them one day."

"I'll keep that in mind," she murmured and he patted her shoulder.

"Pirates are not human. Whatever you do, you never let your guard down with them," he warned her and she threw his hand off, glaring at him.

"Funny, that's what your kind say about my people," she said in a firm voice and he narrowed his eyes at her.

"Make sure they don't find out about our little meeting. Once you've made your decision, return here," he instructed and she nodded slightly and left the barracks.

Reyna walked further away from the barracks as soon as possible and tried to find her way around the town, her thoughts running through her head a million miles per second.

"What should I do?" she murmured quietly, hugging herself as she walked down the street. The happy and joyful air didn't hit her like it did earlier.

_If I side with the military, I can go back to Yamato and bring money home to my family. And…I'm sure pirates are bad people, _she tried to convince herself but for some reason, those thoughts left a bad taste in her mouth. _No….they're not. The members of the Sirius aren't regular pirates. If they see someone in need, they help them, _Reyna snorted to herself softly. _Even Captain Morgan is a kind person…_

She paused in her steps, looking out at the waterfall in the distance. _But if I don't do something now…would I have to be on the Sirius forever?_

Reyna shook her head, touching her choker as she took a couple of steps forward, running into someone. "I'm sorry! I was lost in thought…" she broke off when she saw who she had run into.

"Hey lady, where are you going with that despondent face?" Captain Morgan asked her with a soft smile. "Are you running away from the pirates?"

"Captain Morgan," Reyna said in surprise as Russell and the other caught up with them.

"Sheesh, there you are!" Russell complained and Thomas looked at her worriedly.

"We were worried because you disappeared," he told her with a relieved smile on his face. "We thought you were kidnapped."

Reyna frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. "Why would I get kidnapped?"

"Do you know how much you'd be worth as a slave?" Christopher told her with a scolding tone. "You shouldn't walk the streets of an unknown town by yourself. What happened, anyway?"

Honestly, she should be an actress with the way she hid her feelings and rolled her eyes at him. "I wanted to get a better look at the waterfall," she lied smoothly through her lips. "And I lost track of where I was."

Nathan sighed, patting her head much to Reyna's annoyance. "We thought you were sold to gypsies."

Eduardo snorted. "It would be hard to sell her, honestly, you troublemaker."

"Eduardo was in a bad mood the whole time you were gone," Christopher explained to her as she raised an eyebrow at the navigator.

"I thought it would be a pain if she was in trouble," Eduardo said simply, giving the doctor a knowing look. "You were pretty upset yourself, Doc."

Christopher flashed him an easy smile. "When people are worried, they get upset," he turned back to Reyna. "Either way, I'm glad you're safe."

"I'm really glad, too. We were worried what we would do if we never found you," Thomas informed her and Russell snickered, throwing the apprentice a smirk.

"You were actually crying and sniffling!" Russell laughed and Thomas flushed with embarrassment.

"I wasn't sniffling!" he quickly turned to Reyna who was watching them. "It's not true! Believe me, Miss Reyna!"

She swallowed and nodded, hugging herself tighter. "O-Okay, I'm sorry to make you worry."

"And Captain insisted that we find you or else we couldn't leave this town. That's why we had no choice but to look for you," Russell informed her and she looked at the captain, surprised.

"Usually, Captain tends to leave women at the port," Eduardo muttered and Captain Morgan just laughed at the comment.

"She's a member of the Sirius! We can't leave one of our own behind," he replied simply as Reyna looked around at their faces, seeing how happy they were to have found here, even Eduardo.

_Everyone was worried about me… _she clenched a hand to her choker, guilt hitting her hard as Thomas said they should return to the ship.

"Reyna, come here," Captain Morgan ordered as he lifted her up and carried her, yet again, in bridal style. "I don't want you getting lost again. I'm going to carry you to the Sirius."

Reyna protested at once, forgetting about her problems momentarily. "Put me down! This is embarrassing!"

Captain Morgan just laughed. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about. You're being carried by the great Captain Morgan. You should feel lucky."

The captain's light-hearted words were stinging and Reyna grimaced quietly and glared at him. "I feel like I'm being harassed!" she exclaimed.

**oOo**

It was decided that the Sirius would stay the night in the port. After dinner, Reyna went straight to the captain's quarters and sat down on her special spot, hoping it would be an answer.

_What should I do? I need to decide soon, _Reyna told herself, sitting on the chair and hugging her knees close to her chest, staring at the map on the wall.

"What's wrong? Is something the matter?" Captain Morgan asked her as she gave him a confused look. "You haven't said a word ever since you came back. It's unusual, because you're always saying one thing or another," he said from the bed, looking concerned.

Reyna didn't notice and frowned. "Oh…I haven't?" she asked, trying to recall but nothing came to mind.

"Usually you're so noisy. When you're quiet it throws me off," he answered and got off the bed, crouching before Reyna who sat on the rocking chair. A serious look crossed his face as she stared down at him. "Did something happen while you were alone?"

Reyna, for some reason, couldn't find the words to speak and remained silent.

"Did the bar owner say something to you?"

She shook her head softly, allowing her bangs to cover her face slightly. "No…it's not like that…" she said quietly, unable to look at him in the face.

Captain Morgan smiled wryly. "Is it something you don't want to tell me?"

"No, it's not that."

"You don't have to be polite. I'm not assuming that you trust me so much that you would confide in me," he told her and she looked at him as he poked her cheek lightly. His eyes softened as she stared into her ocean eyes. "Can I touch you?"

Reyna looked at him in surprise. "Huh?"

"I'm asking if I can touch your cheek," he corrected himself and Reyna looked at him with an eyebrow raised.

"Why are you asking _now_?" she asked him, looking at him with suspicion. "Usually you just go ahead and touch me without permission."

Captain Morgan scoffed. "Even I can be considerate when talking to a woman who's feeling down," he looked at her sincerely. "Can I?"

Reyna just nodded, watching as he smiled at her answer and then placed his large hand on her cheek. _I wonder how much sin has tainted this hand, _she wondered, finding herself leaning into his touch and calming down slightly. _And how many people he has helped with this hand…_

She realised that the captain's hand was covered in scars and found herself wondering how he could have gotten so many.

"If you're worried about what to do, then just do what you think is right," Captain Morgan told her gently and she looked into his eyes, finding comfort in them.

"What I think is right?"

"That's right. The worst thing you can do is lie to yourself," he replied, a flicker of sadness pass through his eyes but it was gone before she could comment on it. "Take the path you believe in."

Reyna squeezed her eyes shut, holding back tears. _I can't betray everyone on the Sirius…I…_

"I still want to stay…" she murmured into his hand, placing her own smaller, softer ones over his and squeezing it tight. _I want to stay with the captain…this irresponsible womanizer, but kind-hearted man…_

"What's wrong?" he asked her gently and she opened her eyes, mind made up as she looked into his gentle, worried ones.

"We need to leave this port immediately," she told him, dropping her hands from his large one and getting up, moving away from him.

"What are you talking about?"

"The navy is after the Sirius."

Captain Morgan looked surprised and shocked. "What?"

**oOo**

After Captain Morgan called everyone on deck and Reyna explained to them what happened with the navy, Eduardo sailed the Sirius out of the port immediately.

"The navy is playing dirty for trying to use Reyna…" Russell clenched his fists at his side as Reyna leaned against the mast, arms crossed over her chest and she looked down at the floor.

"I hope they didn't treat you horribly," Christopher said, looking at her as she stayed silent. She didn't trust herself to speak anymore; instead, her heart and mind were at war with each other. She wanted to scream, to cry, to hit something. Do anything to let loose her pent up emotions.

"Captain! The cannon on that island is aiming for us!" Thomas called from further away and Reyna glanced up, finding it to be true.

"Prepare to attack!" Captain Morgan ordered as Russell, Thomas and Nathan ran over to the cannons, preparing to shoot. "Reyna," he turned to her. "It's going to shake a little. Hold on tight."

She just simply nodded but didn't move to do anything as the cannons on the Sirius fired towards the navy. When the navy, however, tried to fire Reyna moved from her spot and headed over towards the railings.

She pushed her right arm across then her left, making the water rise above and capture the cannon balls as the Sirius kept fighting. It wasn't much to let out her emotions, but it would have to do for now.

"First a monster, then the navy," Captain Morgan laughed from further away. "We are pretty popular as of late!"

The captain then took his saber and pointed it at the navy with a serious look on his face. "Don't think it'd be this easy to capture me! Next time bring the entire Imperial Navy if you'd like!"

When the cannons were out of firing range, did Reyna cease her movements and the Sirius safely sailed away from the Port of Aqua. Thomas beamed at her but Reyna found herself unable to return the gesture as she stared out at the ocean, a hard look on her face.

_Have I made the right choice?_

**oOo**

That night, the deck was prepared for celebration. Everyone was eating and drinking except for Reyna who was quietly drinking her lemon water from in between Nathan and Thomas.

"Today we're celebrating the fact that Reyna saved the Sirius!" Captain Morgan declared and Reyna shook her head at him.

"No, I didn't do anything grand…" she tried to tell him but he held up a hand to silence her as he looked at her seriously.

"Listen. If the navy had ambushed us it would have been harder for us to escape. So, good job!" he grinned, grabbing her and hugging her tightly. "Good girl! You're quite a woman!"

_Sheesh, _Reyna thought with an eye roll. _This is the same man who was asking if he could touch me?_

Russell had a sip from his drink before looking at her. "But I'm surprised."

"Me, too. I didn't think you would side with us," Eduardo admitted as well in mild surprise and Reyna felt her chest tighten as she looked away, out at the black sea.

"The crew of the Sirius saved the town of Aqua. I didn't understand why you should be captured," she answered simply as everyone thanked her, with Nathan informing her that he made her favourite, stewed potatoes.

"Reyna saved her mates. That makes her part of the Sirius crew!" Captain Morgan declared, raising his glass of alcohol. "Cheers to Reyna!"

"Cheers!"

_One of the Sirius crew, _she had a small sip of her lemon water, her chest hurting slightly. _I'm one of them…._

For some reason, Reyna was happy to hear those words.

* * *

**Song: Running Back by Jessica Maulboy**


	7. Chapter 6 - Amelia

**Chapter Six:**

**Amelia**

_I still stand by my decision to not hand the Sirius over to the navy to this very day. Many paths were opened up for me. But, Lucius, at the time it may have seemed like the right decision but I was conflicted. The navy could have been my ticket to get back home; my parents wouldn't have had to work anymore. I felt like I had betrayed them by turning my back on them._

_So I wanted to know exactly what I gave my family up for. I wanted to know more about Captain Morgan whom I both hated and began to realise my feelings for him. But as usual, your father was evasive to my questions. When had our first real fight that day since I had boarded the Sirius and you'll never guess who opened my eyes and gave me the answers I need…_

**oOo**

With all the trouble and drama behind them, the Sirius once again was heading for Skull Island. Although she was now a member of Sirius, Reyna had never felt so out of place in her entire life.

_I can't believe I'm on this ship by choice, _Reyna thought, bending the water from the buckets and throwing it onto the deck, mopping it along the way. She glanced at the captain and saw he was looking out from the deck towards the ocean. _He is such a mysterious man. Even though he is the feared Pirate King, he is charming and gentle…_

Reyna realised in shock and mild horror that she couldn't take her eyes off of him. _Does this mean…I'm attracted to him?_

"What's wrong, Reyna?" Christopher asked, pulling her out of her thoughts as she resumed mopping the deck. "You keep sighing while holding the mop."

"Sorry, I'll get back to work," she told him, bending more water from another bucket and pouring the old water into the ocean.

"Are you all right? Do you feel sick?"

She shook her head, resuming mopping the deck. "I'm fine. Just a little dazed…Maybe the sun is too strong today…"

Christopher looked at her with a knowing smile, one she frowned at. "Were you looking at Captain?"

Reyna's eyes widened. "N-No! It's not like that!" she exclaimed, throwing some water at him but stepped back in time, chuckled slightly at her reaction to his words.

"Well, it seems that Captain cares deeply for you, too," he smiled at her and she remained silent for a moment, throwing out the old water and bending new water onto the deck as she continued to mop.

The tavern owner's words rang in Reyna's mind as she looked at Christopher. "Do you think the captain is a lonely person?"

"That's out of the blue," he rubbed the back of his neck. "Why are you asking?"

Reyna shrugged her shoulders. "I was told by a lady at Aqua that the captain is lonely. I think…she was involved with Captain in the past," Reyna felt a small smile creep onto her face. "She had some _very _interesting things to say about him."

"I can imagine," Christopher murmured as he looked at the captain who was still gazing at the ocean. "The top…I guess it can be a lonely."

"My step-father often says the same thing," Reyna nodded in agreement.

"Especially if you're the Pirate King. What Captain has on his shoulders, is something we can't even imagine. But…if the lady said that, maybe she meant it in a different way."

Reyna frowned in confusion as Christopher turned back to her. "I'm sure you'll understand soon enough."

"What do you mean?" she asked him, ignoring the mop and focusing on the Sirius doctor.

"Hmm…I can't explain it clearly right now. I just have a feeling," he patted her on the head gently. "Ever since you joined us, Captain has changed."

She raised an eyebrow, giving him a look of doubt. "Do you really think so?"

Christopher nodded, rubbing his neck again in thought. "Yeah. How, I can't really say…but I've also noticed that before, he keeps to himself…"

"You too?" she asked, having noticing that as well since the moment she got on board the Sirius.

"Although I wouldn't say it's loneliness…maybe you can change him in a positive way," he told her and she snorted as Russell began calling for Christopher. "I think Russell needs me, maybe he's hurt," he flashed her an apologetic smile.

"Do you really think there is anything I can do for him?" Reyna asked him softly and Christopher's eyes softened.

"I think staying by his side is best," he answered gently and chuckled to himself as he recalled something. "When you disappeared, Captain was pretty flustered."

Reyna watched him return to the cabin and sighed, looking up at Captain Morgan again. _I wonder if the captain cared enough to worry about me…_

Once she started to dwell and wonder, Reyna couldn't stop thinking about the Captain's past and how she knew so little of him. Maybe she could try and find out more…

**oOo**

After dinner, when Reyna had finished eating and returned to Captain's quarters, she found him drinking on his bed. Reyna sat on the usual rocking chair and looked at him.

"How do you become a Pirate King?" she asked him curiously, hugging her knees close to her chest as Captain Morgan grinned at her.

"You never cease to entertain me. Why are you so curious all of a sudden?" he asked her and she shrugged her shoulders, resting her chin on her knees.

"It's been on my mind for a while now. Because you're a king, but not a king of a kingdom," she replied. _Maybe if I asked questions, I'll understand him better…_

Captain Morgan smirked at her. "It's a top secret only shared among pirates…"

Reyna frowned. "Is it that much of a big deal?"

"But since it's you, I'll make an exception," he told her and patted the bed. "Come over here. You have to come closer."

Reyna sighed, getting up and drawing closer to the bed but still keeping a reasonable distant.

"Closer, someone might hear," he pouted and she rolled her eyes, sitting next to him on the bed as he drew closer, his lips were right next to her ear. "A pirate king…"

"Yes?"

"….is decided by a game of rock-paper-scissors," he answered seriously and Reyna growled in frustration, pushing him away and standing up, glaring at him.

"Will you quit teasing me!" she exclaimed as he laughed.

"What's the point of telling you how one becomes a Pirate King? Or are you trying to take my spot as Pirate King?" he asked her and she rolled her eyes at him.

"Yes, you now know my master plan," she said sarcastically. "I'm not, but…the lady at the Aqua said that you're a lonely man."

Captain Morgan pulled a face. "I can't believe she said that to you…"

"Well, the other day, you said the worst thing you can do is lie to yourself right?" Reyna asked and Captain Morgan didn't like that she was throwing his own words back at him. "When you said that, your eyes looked really sad, so…"

"Reyna," he said in a warning tone but she ignored it, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I thought maybe something was bothering you…"

He looked at her with soft eyes. "You're worried about me?" he asked and she didn't say anything, her silence speaking more than words ever could. "Well, then why are you so concerned with me? Are you planning to pretend you don't know anything and sneak into my heart like that? You're in love with me after all, aren't you?"

Reyna didn't like the accusation in his tone, even if it was small and mostly masked by teasing and the fact that he turned it around for her, 'affections,' of him. Without warning, Captain Morgan grabbed her arm and pushed her down onto the bed.

"It's a shame when you don't take advantage of a woman's advances, right?" he murmured to her in a husky tone and Reyna looked at him with her eyes widened.

"What? No!" she exclaimed, trying to move but he grabbed her wrists and held them above her head firmly.

"You've been throwing little hints," he whispered, placing his lips close to her neck. "If you want me to make you into a woman, stop beating around the bush and just say you want me."

Now Reyna was pissed. "That's not what I want!" she shouted, slapping him in the face when she broke free of his grasp. She expected Captain Morgan to react angrily, not laughing.

"Even a child like you reacts like a woman. That one stung," he rolled off the bed slowly and looked down at her. "You should be glad I have no interest in kids."

Reyna glared at him as she sat up.

"Listen, Reyna," he warned her, the joke gone from his eyes. "It's fine that you're curious. But sometimes, curiosity does kill the cat."

Reyna felt tears threaten to appear; her hand that slapped the captain's face was burning as frustration filled her body. "My opinion of you was starting to change," she spat bitterly, getting off of the bed and heading to the door. "But I can see I was wrong."

Reyna slammed the door and as she was running, she bumped into Nathan by the stairs. "Sorry," she mumbled, moving to head to the deck but Nathan intercepted her.

"It's fine, did something happen?"

Reyna refused to look at him. "No, now please move," she answered hotly but he ignored it, looking towards the captain's quarters.

"Your nose is running," he stated and she ignored it.

"It does that."

Nathan sighed, handing her a handkerchief. "I'll lend you this. Wipe it along with your tears."

Reyna took it and wiped away the tears that had strayed from her eyes and gently wiped her nose. "Thank you…"

"Do you have some time right now?" he asked her and she nodded, not trusting herself to speak at the moment. "Then come and help me," he grabbed her arm and took her to the kitchen. In the kitchen, Reyna was faced with a pile of potatoes.

"Didn't we already eat dinner?" she asked him curiously.

"This is for tomorrow," he answered as he grabbed a knife and a potato. "Help me peel these."

Reyna nodded and looked around for a peeler when Nathan handed her one and she began peeling the potatoes as well.

"Did you have an argument with Captain?" he asked her after a few moments of silence.

Reyna laughed bitterly; glad she had something to focus on. "I don't know if you could call it an argument…he teases me…treats me like a little kid…everything is just a fucking game to him…"

"Do you think he's heartless?"

"I don't know, but I do think he's an egotistical, womanizing drunk," she muttered darkly, peeling potato after potato. "He has women problems at every port we stop in…"

"Captain isn't just sleeping around because he wants to," Nathan sighed tiredly. "The women Captain gets involved with are all women in unfortunate circumstances. Like women who have lost their parents and are taking care of the family, or women bringing up small children because the father took off."

Reyna paused in her peeling, listening as she stared into the sink. Nathan took her silence as an indication that she was still listening and continued.

"Every time we return to the ports, Captain gives gold coins and treasure to those women. To help them in their living."

_That's what he's been doing? I thought he was just sleeping around…._

"From what I've seen, it only looks like he gets involved with these women to help them. Giving money out of momentary pity is one thing, but he continued to send them things. He's a man's man."

"Is that what a Pirate King does?" she asked quietly.

Nathan snorted at the thought. "Of course not. That's his personal decision."

"I still don't know what a Pirate King is," she told him, looking at his back as he continued to peel the potatoes. "What exactly do they do?"

Nathan paused and turned to her. "In a word, he's a guardian, one who keeps the oceans in balance. The conflict between the navy and pirates has been going on for a while. You know that there are different kinds of pirates, right?"

Reyna nodded. "Even the Sirius crew is different from the crew of the Rika."

"Right, so having a chivalrous man like Captain at the top deters other pirates from doing whatever they want."

_It's true that the captain doesn't look the other way when there are people in need…_

"And by having a Pirate King, the balance between the pirates and the navy is maintained, too. That connects to balancing out everything at sea."

Reyna nodded in understanding, turning back to peel a couple more potatoes. "My mother always used to say that the people of Iciuis maintain the balance between the real world and the spiritual plane. One cannot exist without the other and with the powers granted to us by the gods, we are able to maintain the physical and spiritual balance of the two worlds."

"I guess," Nathan agreed. "On the outside, Captain seems like he is only thinking about himself. But actually, he is only thinking about others."

"I think now I know why Russell got upset when I chose to stay with the captain," Reyna realised.

"There aren't many who get to share a cabin with the Pirate King. But maybe you're special to him," he looked at Reyna as he skilfully peeled the potatoes and she looked over, meeting his gaze.

"That's not true," she argued, shaking her head. "He treats me like a child, teases me…"

"Well, here's something I've observed. You always sit on that velour chair in his quarters, right?"

Reyna nodded. "Yeah, ever since he told me to sit down in the beginning, that chair has become my usual spot."

"You wouldn't know it, but that's quite a feat," he saw the doubtful look on her face and exhaled lightly. "It's his favourite chair. Russell got drunk and sat on it once, Captain got upset and took away all of his beef jerky."

Reyna couldn't help the light chuckle that escaped her lips at the thought before sobering. "Then…why does he let me sit in it?"

Nathan's gaze softened as he gave her a small smile. "You're probably someone special to him. Captain isn't treating you lightly."

_Maybe….but I can't help but doubt it… _she thought as Nathan announced that they were done. Before she realised it, the pile of potatoes was peeled.

"Sorry, I didn't help much," she apologised and Nathan waved it off.

"Don't worry about it. You can work on this," he said as he put a pile of carrots in front of Reyna.

"These need to be peeled, too?" she guessed and he smirked at her.

"Yeah and you can do that on your own, in return for the information I just gave you," he bargained and began walking out.

"It isn't fair to speak first and surprise me with work," she pointed out and he shrugged his shoulders.

"Don't slack off and make sure you finish," he replied as he left the kitchen. Reyna sighed and under the dim light in the empty kitchen, she was only able to hear the sounds of the waves.

_How long is this going to take me….no time to complain, Rey, I need to finish this and thank Nathan later, _she sighed and reached for a carrot when a noise behind her startled her.

"Nathan?" she asked, turning around and finding no one there. Frowning, she heard the noise again and grabbed the kitchen knife. _Could another pirate snuck on board?_

* * *

**Song: Amelia by Tonight Alive**


	8. Chapter 7 - Romeo and Cinderella

**Chapter Seven:**

**Romeo and Cinderella**

_Honestly, your father amuses me a lot. He acts like child when I use his own words against him, like the time he declared to give up women and booze for me. Oh, that was **VERY** amusing to watch him suffer. Maybe Eduardo's personality had begun to influence me but I thought it was the karma he deserved._

_How did this come to pass, you might be asking? Your father won't admit me and gets mad whenever I bring it up but…._

**oOo**

Reyna listened closely, knife in hand at the sound. _It's not the ship rocking….and it's coming from the pantry…is someone hiding back there? I got on this ship via a barrel, so it's possible…._

"Is someone there?" Reyna called to the pantry, eyeing it carefully as the sound grew louder. Swallowing the lump in her throat and taking a deep breath, she slowly crept over to the pantry. "If someone's there, come out now!"

No sound and Reyna finally grabbed the handle and opened the door. As the door opened, something ran across the floor, making loud squeaks and Reyna yelped as she saw there were two rats running around.

_I hate rats! _She screamed in her mind, running out of the kitchen and heading up to the deck, her heart pounding hard in her chest. Taking a moment, she looked back down at the entrance to below the deck with a slight frown. _What should I do about the carrots? Nathan will kill me if I wake him up…._

Reyna sighed and noticed she brought the kitchen knife with her. "Shit," she murmured as she heard footsteps coming closer and looked up, finding Captain Morgan looking at her.

"Reyna?" he frowned and she wrinkled her nose slightly, smelling the alcohol on him as she stared at him. He looked at the knife in her hand. "What's that in your hand?"

"A knife from the kitchen," she answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world and that's when hell broke loose.

"Calm down! Don't do it! Think it over!" he told her urgently, slightly flustered and Reyna frowned at him in confusion. "I apologise. I'm sorry for treating you like a child and teasing you."

"Alright…" she frowned, standing up straighter and looking at him. "I'm sorry for slapping you…"

"You don't have to apologise. This is all because of your feelings for me, isn't it?"

Reyna let out a hiss of annoyance, looking at the ocean before glaring at him. "Not everything is about you, Captain Morgan," she shot at him but he shook his head furiously.

"It's all my fault for not taking your feelings seriously! But now I know, so please, don't think about taking your life because I didn't reciprocate!" he exclaimed and Reyna stayed silent, laughing slightly on the inside at the assumption. "Women like you tend to brood over these things."

"Women like me?" Reyna glared now, not liking that sentence and he waved it off.

"Considering suicide because you love me so much…" he continued to babble on, ignoring Reyna as she tried to get his attention. "I get it. I get how you feel about me and I gratefully accept it."

"What are you…" Reyna frowned with a questioning look and Captain Morgan saw this, waving his hand.

"Oh? You look like you don't trust me," he said with a hurt expression before looking at her seriously. "How about this. I'll give up booze and women for you! So…please put away that knife, got it?"

"This knife is actually—"

"If you stay alive, good things will happen! When you die, it's over!"

Reyna had enough and used the water in the ocean to throw at him as she shouted at him, "This knife is to peel carrots!"

"Huh?" he said in confusion, ignoring the fact that he was slightly wet in the face. "Carrots?"

_Sheesh, he's completely drunk, _Reyna sighed tiredly and put the knife on the deck before explaining what had happened in the kitchen.

"Oh, so there were rats…" Captain Morgan murmured, scratching his chin as Reyna put her hands on her hips with a nod.

"I accidentally brought the kitchen knife that I was holding," she confirmed and Captain Morgan chuckled.

"How unlikely of you to be scared of rats!" he laughed and she glared at him.

"I thought an enemy pirate was on board," she told him and he nodded, ceasing his laughter with a serious look on his face once more.

"It's good that you were brave, but next time call one of us. Someone could have been hiding," he ran a hand through his hair with a relieved look on his face. "Well, anyway. I'm glad that you weren't doing anything reckless."

Reyna snorted, crossing her arms over her chest with an eye roll. "Committing suicide because I love you too much…that seems more like what Captain Alan would think."

Captain Morgan grimaced, pulling a sour face. "Please don't compare me to him…" he shook his head, grinning at her. "Actually, if I had to choose, I'd rather have you stab me!"

"Don't tempt me," she rolled her eyes when she recalled something and smirked at him. "By the way, you did say that you would give up alcohol and women, right?"

"I only said that because I thought you were going to kill yourself," Captain Morgan reminded her, no longer grinning.

"But that was your misunderstanding. You said you would give them up if I put the knife away, and I did," Reyna pointed out with a mischievous smirk on her face, watching him get the karma he deserved.

Captain Morgan tried to protest but eventually gave up when he realised Reyna had him cornered. "Fine, the Pirate King keeps his word!" he snapped and then gave her a hopeful look. "But can I at least keep the booze?"

"So you're not really keeping your word?" she asked him innocently and he narrowed his eyes.

"Gah, never mind. I'll give up both!" he grumbled, ruffling Reyna's hair with a shake of his head. "I thought you were a child but you turned out to be pretty sneaky…"

Reyna shrugged her shoulders. "All I did was peel some carrots…"

Captain Morgan began grumbling about how alcohol tasted so good before wanting to cool down and asked Reyna to accompany him on the deck where they enjoyed the cool night breeze. He sat down on the deck while Reyna decided to practice her bending.

"Reyna…are you not interested in money?" Captain Morgan asked her and she frowned slightly, concentrating as she tried to create a new form. It was inspired by the hydra and Reyna thought she could somehow do an octopus like form.

"Huh? Why do you ask?" she asked him with a slight frown as she raised two arms of water into the air and focused on bringing up a third.

"Did you see our wanted posters in Aqua?" Captain Morgan asked her as Reyna's chest tightened at the memory. "Didn't the navy offer you the bounty? You didn't want that?"

Reyna snorted softly, raising a third arm and working on a fourth. "The bounty was so high, it didn't seem real."

"Yamato is not a bountiful town, is it?"

"Not really," she replied, slowly raising a fourth arm as she swallowed the lump in her throat. "The land is easily affected by the weather so it is difficult to produce crops."

She glanced at him and saw his eyes staring at her. "I could see that. You were working in a bar at your age."

"Actually, I started working there when I was sixteen," she couldn't help but correct him.

"So your family is struggling, right?" he asked her and she felt tears come into her eyes but she refused to let them loose. Instead, she tried to raise the fourth arm as it shakily rose in the air. "If you had given us up to the navy, you could have made your family happy. But you didn't do that."

Reyna was clenching her fists as the water dropped onto the deck with a loud splash and she looked away. "That's because…you said that I was a member of this crew…a place where I could be myself without worrying…"

"True. But it wasn't easy for you to give up the money, right?" he asked and she remained silent, barely holding back the tears now. "Thanks. Sorry for making you suffer through that."

Reyna couldn't hold back anymore and let the tears loose as Captain Morgan got up and pulled her closer. _I feel so guilt towards my family whom I left behind in Yamato. And he understands that…._

"I don't understand…do I want to return to Yamato, or do I want to stay on the Sirius?" she sobbed into the captain's chest. "I want to see my family, but I don't want to part with everyone on the Sirius, either….dammit, I'm not making any sense…."

"That's not true," Captain Morgan said, holding Reyna's hand gently to reassure her. "That's what it means to be a pirate. We weren't alone from the beginning. We had families."

Reyna, still crying softly, could hear the sad tone in Captain Morgan's voice as he said that and his kindness just affected her further. _I….am in love…with the captain…._

Captain Morgan stayed with Reyna in silence until she stopped sobbing and then carried her to bed because she was tired from crying. For once, Reyna didn't protest when being carried and was silent until they got into the cabin.

"Your eyes are all red," he murmured and Reyna gave a weak laugh as he gently placed her onto the bed.

"I guess all the tension that's built up since I came aboard was released all at once…" she said quietly.

"Right. Even though you were placed on a pirate ship, you didn't cry or scream. You were brave," he agreed, sitting at the edge of the bed and rubbed Reyna's back.

Reyna smiled softly into the pillow, her back to him. "What is your hometown like?"

"Hm? Let's see…." Reyna was surprised that he was answering. "It's similar to Yamato."

"Really?"

"Yeah, the differences in weather are extreme. We had long bouts of drought. Whenever the rare shower came, we would run around in it because we were so happy."

Reyna gently gripped the sheets, feeling slightly calm with his touch on her back. "And your family? You didn't have siblings?"

"How about you?"

Reyna sensed that he didn't want to talk about it and evaded her question but didn't pull him up on it. "I have a half-brother who's younger…same mother but different fathers."

"What is he like?" Captain Morgan asked, still rubbing her back softly.

"He's good-looking, energetic…doesn't listen to me," she smiled softly to herself. "He didn't inherit anything on my mother's side…so I guess that good."

"Being energetic is good," he chuckled from behind her.

"How were you as a child?" she asked him cautiously, hoping he'd answer this one and not evade her question.

"What do you think?"

Reyna glanced over her shoulder at him, raising an eyebrow with a smirk. "I think you were breaking girls' hearts."

Captain Morgan chuckled at her answer. "You're sharp…" he traced light patterns on her back. "Okay, no more chit-chat. Go to sleep, you're tired."

"You're not going to sleep?"

"After I make sure you sleep," he placed a hand gently on Reyna's cheek as she looked away, snuggling deeper into the pillow.

"I think I'll be able to…after I calm down…" she murmured softly.

"Good," he replied, turning off the lamp as Reyna turned and faced him while he started to hum. "Do you know this song?"

Reyna recognised it immediately. "That's a lullaby from Yamato. How do you know that song?" she asked him in surprise, looking at him.

"You pick up different things when you travel," he answered softly, his calm voice feeling good to Reyna's ears.

_How nostalgic. I heard this song often as a child… _she thought. "Why did you become a pirate?"

"Hm?" he hummed with an eyebrow raised.

"It doesn't seem like you, because you're so kind…" she mumbled sleepily as Captain Morgan moved his hand to running through her hair that was out of its braid.

"Shh, stop thinking and go to sleep," he whispered to her softly. "A pirate doesn't dwell on the past."

Encouraged by his gentle hand and lullaby, Reyna fell asleep quickly.

* * *

**Song: Romeo and Cinderella by Hatsune Miku but the one I listened to was the dubbed version on Youtube by Miku-tan so listen to either is fine by me...**


	9. Chapter 8 - Orpheus

**Chapter Eight:**

**Orpheus**

_It still brings a smile to my face even now when I think back on it. You father, the great Captain Morgan, captain of the Sirius and the Pirate King, flipped out because I had a kitchen knife in my hand and assumed suicide was in order. I have to admit, using his words against him and watching him suffer is one of the best ideas I've ever had._

_But…that was the first time I broke down on the Sirius since coming aboard and your father helped to calm me down throughout the entire thing. It didn't matter that I was still confused about things, I realised that night that I was in love with the egotistical womanizer. For many reasons, but one of them being that he was never afraid __**of **__me as a bender. No, your father often admits that he's afraid __**for **__me as a bender. _

_Although I realised that Morgan wouldn't talk to me directly about certain things, so I had to turn to the person whom was the last I would have expected for answers…._

**oOo**

Reyna didn't actually think Captain Morgan would go through with it, but the next morning, when he gathered everyone on deck before breakfast and made the announcement, she was just as surprised as everyone else.

"So I have given up booze and women!" Captain Morgan declared and the crew started to talk all at once.

Russell immediately turned to Reyna with accusing eyes. "Reyna! What kind of trick did you use to make Captain give up alcohol and women…"

Eduardo sighed tiredly, annoyed by the troubles. "I hope we don't run into a storm…"

"I didn't do anything," Reyna rolled her eyes at them while Russell opened his mouth to speak when Captain Morgan waved it off.

"Never mind the details. I never suspected Reyna to try to entice me in that way, either," he sighed with a small grumble and Reyna blushed lightly before getting pissed off.

"Stop suggesting shit that didn't happen!" she exclaimed at him while he smirked at her.

"Now, now. Nothing to be ashamed of," he clucked his tongue at her and Reyna raised an eyebrow at him, suggesting maybe she should _inform _the crew on what really happened.

"What happened between the two of you?" Thomas asked curiously and Captain Morgan looked at him seriously.

"Thomas…it's too adult for a young man to hear," he told the apprentice who looked at Reyna with his eyes widened.

"My goodness…" he said with a small blush and Reyna rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Reyna…" Christopher looked at her with sad eyes and Reyna groaned.

"Christopher, don't look at me like that," she begged, shooting Captain Morgan a dangerous look while he ignored her and turned to Nathan.

"So anyway, you can stop serving me alcohol," he informed the chef while Russell pulled a face.

"I didn't think I'd ever hear those words from you," he muttered and in the end, no one listened to Reyna's side of the story as she disappeared into the kitchen as a safe haven. Nathan was already down there, inspecting the carrots she finished peeling this morning.

"You finished peeling all the carrots," he stated as she leaned against the door, nodding slightly, her eyes peeled for any more rats.

"Yes, but I couldn't do them all last night. So I woke up early and finished them this morning," she explained and he just gave her a firm nod.

"It's not perfect, but the job's done. Thanks," he replied and Reyna let out a quiet sigh of relief. "…Looks like you made up with Captain."

"Yeah…sorry for causing trouble."

Nathan looked at her, a small smirk on his face but for some reason, it didn't reach his eyes. "And you managed to get him to give up alcohol and women, right? You're…quite something."

Reyna sighed tiredly. "Please stop saying that. It just happened."

"Either way, try not to create too many problems among the crew," he told her as he waited for Reyna to move. When she stepped aside, he left the kitchen and ran upstairs.

"Maybe Nathan thinks he missed his chance," Thomas suddenly popped out of the pantry and Reyna screamed slightly in surprise.

"Shit! You…really need a bell or something as well," she snapped slightly, calming down. "Where did you come from?"

"I was in the pantry, catching the rats. Captain told me about it first thing this morning. But they're so cute!" he grinned and Reyna pulled a face, leaning against the counter.

"They're devils in fur," she told him firmly and then frowned at him. "Were you listening to our conversation?"

"Sorry, I accidentally overhear the two of you," he apologised, looking embarrassed. "But for Nathan, who is usually quiet to talk like that…I think—Ow!"

A potato came flying from the top of the stairs and smacked Thomas in the head, surprising both the apprentice and the bender.

"Thomas! Do you have time to chit-chat?" Nathan barked from upstairs while Thomas rubbed his head. "I told you to carry the ingredients!"

"Aye! I'll do it at once!" Thomas quickly went back into the pantry, leaving Reyna to laugh at what occurred.

"I'll see you later, Thomas," she called to him in the pantry and walked out of the kitchen, planning to head to the deck when she felt something pull her to check on the captain. When she returned to the captain's quarters, Reyna found Captain Morgan sprawled out on the bed, looking listless. "Are you okay?"

"Alcohol…I want alcohol…" Captain Morgan groaned and Reyna shook her head. It hadn't even been a day and he was already acting like this.

"Christopher said that the withdrawal would go away after a week," she informed him, trying to bring some sort of comfort but that just made things worse.

Captain Morgan looked at her in horror. "It's going to take that long?" he complained, sinking his face into the pillow. "Such torture…"

"There's grape juice. Maybe you can have that instead," she told him, getting a sort of kick out of watching him suffer slightly.

"Grape juice?" he scoffed as he lifted his head and looked at her. "If you would give it to me with your mouth, maybe I could get drunk."

Reyna rolled her eyes, placing a hand on his forehead to see if he had a temperature.

"It's because of you I gave up booze. You could at least do that for me," he told her and Reyna shook her head, withdrawing her hand and looking at the map on the wall.

"I don't see the logic there."

Captain Morgan sighed. "I guess you're still a child, so you won't do it…Reyna…"

"Hm?" she looked away from the map and at him as he looked at her seriously.

"I've limited my women to just you, so can't you at least let me drink?"

Reyna raised an eyebrow. "Let me think about it…"

He grinned at her innocently, like a child being promised candy. "Please? I've given up women, so as a reward—"

"No, you can't have any," she cut him off. "If you go back on your word, you'll lose the trust of your crew. I though a Pirate King keeps his word."

Captain Morgan sighed, seeing she was right and gestured for her. "Then…come here"

Reyna looked at him like he was on drugs or something. "Uh…why?"

"I gave up booze and only have you as my woman. So give me some comfort," he ordered and pulled her arm, embracing her on the bed. "I guess I'll have to endure with this soft body pillow…"

_Body pillow? The other day, he compared me to a puppy, _Reyna thought, slightly annoyed at him as his arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her back to his chest. _Either way, he's not treating me like a woman….Since when did he decide that I was his only woman anyway?!_

While Reyna was busy with her thoughts, Captain Morgan noticed the ship was slowing down. "Oh…Are we at a port so soon? We're slowing down."

"We're stopping somewhere?"

"Yeah, there should be a small port nearby," Captain Morgan chuckled from behind Reyna. "Nathan claimed that we ran out of food because I stopped drinking. So we decided to get more food."

_He was eating more than usual this morning… _Reyna recalled as she sat up, throwing his arms off of her and grabbing her water skin belt, attaching it to her waist as Captain Morgan watched her.

"That comes in handy, doesn't it?" he asked and she looked at him in surprise. "You look like a true Iciuian of the Waters….but something else."

Reyna raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What else do I look like?"

Captain Morgan stood up from the bed and walked over, grabbing her hand and tracing a sun pattern on the back of it. "Iciuian of the Fires," he answered before ruffling her hair that was loose on her shoulders. "Let's go out onto the deck.

Reyna watched him go, thinking hard on his words before following him. When she arrived on deck, Reyna noticed that Eduardo was looking stern as he peered through the telescope.

"Eduardo? What's wrong?" Captain Morgan questioned, seeing the look on the navigator's face as well. "Aren't we approaching the port?"

"Aye, but….something about the port is off," Eduardo answered slowly but firmly and Reyna looked out at it, placing a strand of her hair behind her ear as the wind blew slightly.

"What do you mean?" Captain Morgan frowned.

"There are many naval ships anchored near the harbor," he explained, looking away from the telescope and to the captain. "I don't understand why they would need so much security at a small port like this. What should we do?"

"We'll raise the sails and dock," Captain Morgan answered. "We're going to pretend we're a normal cargo ship."

Eduardo nodded and went to steer the ship as Reyna continued to look out at the port, an uneasy feeling knotting tight in her stomach. She placed a few fingers on her choker, trying to calm down.

**oOo**

They arrived at the small port of Orca and raised the sails before entering. Of course, Christopher handled the necessary steps for that. As the crew praised Christopher for his efforts and job well done, Reyna noticed the frown on Captain Morgan's face.

"I don't like the atmosphere," he said, looking further at the town. "We're leaving as soon as we get everything we need."

Thomas stepped forward with the shopping list. "Here's the shopping list. We'll divide the work," Thomas informed us, ripping a bit of the list into pieces and handing them out to everyone except for the captain who was staying at the ship.

"Are you sure Reyna can go off on her own?" Russell asked doubtfully, looking at Reyna as she accepted a piece of paper.

She shot Russell a displeased look. "I'm not a child, I can handle this," she told him firmly, patting her water skin belt that held some water inside.

"Don't get lost like last time," Nathan warned her and she pouted slightly.

"I'll be fine, geez," she grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest and Christopher gave her a soft smile.

"We'll have you go to the area closest to here," he told her and she nodded as everyone split up.

**oOo**

"Let's see," Reyna murmured, pulling out her list as she carried her basket along the street. "Soap, detergent, and….alcohol?" she recognised the handwriting and snorted. "Forget it!"

"Move it, move it!" a voice shouted and Reyna frowned, looking over and seeing a weird person running at full speed in the middle of a market place. As they drew closer, Reyna realised it was none other than…

"Captain Alan?!" she exclaimed and he noticed her standing there as he ran closer.

"Oh, Reyna!" he called, pausing when he was close to her.

"Why are you running?" she asked him with a frown as he glanced over his shoulder.

"I'm being chased by the navy. You should come too," he reached for her arm but she slapped it away, looking at him sternly. "You know, meeting by chance here means that we're destined to be together. So that's why we should run together, as well."

Reyna glared at him. "Or just bad luck, that works too."

"And you're a member of the Sirius. You don't want to be seen by the navy, right?" he pointed out and she froze for a second. Alan smirked and took that opportunity to grab her arm, running off while dragging her along, kicking and screaming.

**oOo**

Alan found an area with stacks of barrels to hide behind and dragged her there. "We'll hide in there."

"There isn't much room," she pointed out as they crouched down in a smaller area. Alan just shushed her as his face was so close to Reyna's and she grew a little claustrophobic.

"Could you move the hell over?" she hissed at him and he shrugged his shoulders.

"There's no more room on my side. Tough luck," he replied bluntly as Reyna felt his body pressing onto hers and she glared at him. "Reyna…" his eyes studying her body closely and smirked. "Your body's actually pretty nice. Looks fun to tie up."

Reyna pulled a face, trying to put as much distance as she could between them. "Don't say creepy things or else I'll throw you into the sea," she muttered when she realised something. "Um…"

"What is it? Are you confessing your love for me? If so, this is the perfect setting for it…" Alan's eyes twinkled and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Like hell it is and that's not it," she snapped at him before taking a deep breath and looking at him.

"Oh, you want to ask me something? About my past girlfriends or," he poked Reyna's arm with a smirk. "…about my body?"

_Pervert, _she groaned in her head. "It's about Captain Morgan."

Alan's face fell slightly. "Oh, about Morgan. What about him?"

"You guys go way back, right?"

"Yeah, in fact we used to be mates," he informed her and began telling Reyna about he suddenly wanted to split up, how Captain Morgan hides his true feelings now and one day he suddenly changed. How he used to sleep around with women because he liked it and now he only pretends to like it.

"I'm surprised I can talk to you earnestly," Reyna concluded after he finished telling her and Alan looked slightly hurt.

"Who do you think I am? I'm the captain of the Rika! And the man who will soon be Pirate King," he declared and then smirked at her. "So, since I've told you so much, you owe me."

_This again? _She groaned in her head. "I don't have any money," she told him and he smirked, pressing himself closer to her.

"Then you can pay with your body," he whispered and Reyna glared at him, opening her water skin and throwing water at his face before getting up and running away. "Hey! What about the navy?"

"I wasn't the one getting chased by them in the first place!" she called after him before running back into the main street. _I wasted a lot of time. I should hurry before they worry about me again…_ Reyna looked back at her water skin, slightly empty from hitting most of the water at Alan. _I should refill it before anything happens…_

While Reyna was deep in thoughts, a man wearing a navy uniform stood before her, blocking Reyna's way.

"Hold it! You're the woman from the Sirius! You're coming with me!" he reached out to grab her and Reyna threw the last of her water in his face, freezing it before shoving him out of the way and running down the street.

Reyna could hear more voice calling out as she ran and knocked into another navy soldier. "Gotcha!" he smirked, grabbing her hands and tying them behind her back as another soldier grabbed her things.

"Let me go!" Reyna shouted, struggling as one snatched her water skin belt off of her. "Give that back to me!"

"A bender without their element is just an ordinary person," one of them sneered as they began taking her away.

* * *

**Song: Orpheus from Uta no Prince sama opening one...**


	10. Chapter 9 - Vacancy

**Chapter Nine:**

**Vacancy**

_I've been captured by a lot of people in my life. Whether it was the navy, nobles, other pirates or natives on an island, somehow I, Reyna, wife of the Pirate King and keeper of the Heaven Stone, manage to get capture every now and then. If it weren't for your father, the crew and even on some occasion, myself breaking out, I would be back in Yamato whenever the hint of danger showed its ugly head._

_The first time I was captured, I ended up on a pirate ship. The second I was allowed to walk freely by the navy. The third time, however, your father had to break me out himself from the navy after they had captured me for information. Oh and the icing on the cake was the same officer from Aqua was there. _

_Oh the bitter irony…_

**oOo**

As soon as they arrived at the dungeons in a heavily fortified navy base, Reyna was thrown into a cell that was the furthest away from any source of water and forced to sit on a chair. She had to be impressed slightly, taking the extra precaution just for her. They may have tied her hands, but Reyna's sharp, sarcastic mouth was still available to let the navy know exactly what she thought of them.

"Hello again, young lady," an officer stepped into her cell with guards on the outside. Reyna looked up from her seat and raised an eyebrow. "Thanks for nothing last time."

"If you scowl so much you'll get wrinkles," she told him, done being nice to the navy. "On second thought, that might be an improvement."

He glared at her with pure hatred while Reyna wore a perfect poker face that would make Eduardo proud. "I can't believe that a child like you is a member of the Sirius."

"It boggles the mind."

"Thanks to you, our operation at Aqua failed!" he shouted at her while she barely flinched. "Well, I can only blame myself for not seeing through your act."

"My mother always said I should be an actress," Reyna replied dryly and he slammed his hands on the table.

"If I'm dealing with a pirate, I won't go easy whether you're a woman or a child," he warned her and she snorted.

"Wow, watch out everyone. We got ourselves a bad ass over here," Reyna called and smirked in satisfaction when the two guards barely hid their snickers.

The naval officer glared, ignoring the snickering. "Tell me where the rest of your crew is," he demanded and Reyna remained silent, holding his angry gaze with her own cold one. "Don't think you can get off by keeping quiet."

Reyna watched, eyes slightly widened as he pulled out a knife. He saw her expression and smirked.

"Torturing pirates is legal," he informed her, almost delighted. "I can cut up that pretty face…or worse."

"I thought it was illegal to kidnap and torture a bender though," Reyna shot at him, recalling what her step-father told her about the law between her people and everyone else.

"True, but you attacked an officer which cuts out the agreement."

"In self-defence?" she scoffed in disbelief as he placed the knife against Reyna's cheek, ceasing her talk.

"Now tell us where they are," he demanded, pressing into her cheek for emphasis.

"With your mother!" she snapped, scared out of her mind. When she was scared and out of options, Reyna's smart mouth usually got the better of her. It was her mask, her wall to hide her true feelings. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing she was actually shitting herself.

"If you cooperate, we may be able to grant amnesty," he bargained with her, ignoring the jab at his mother. He saw the slight fear in her eyes and smirked. "You know what happens to capture pirates. Strung up in the town square. Is that how you want to die?"

"Well…." She trailed off, giving him a smirk of her own. "Not really, I'd rather like to die choking on chocolate. That's the best way to go now a days, isn't it?"

_If you don't know what to do, do what you think is right…_

Captain Morgan's words crossed her mind as she glared at him in defiance. _The worst thing to do is to lie to yourself…_

"Tell me where they are!" he snapped, pressing harder into her cheek and cutting it slightly, drawing blood.

"No!" she shouted at him with determination, ignoring the pain. "No matter what happens to me, I can't betray my crew."

"Ha, even pirates have loyalty, eh?" he snorted in disbelief, like the very idea wouldn't happen unless a pig flew through the air. "But how long will that last?"

The navy officer re-gripped the knife that was held against Reyna's cheek. "Don't worry, I won't kill you. I just need the information."

Reyna rolled her eyes. "Yes, because _that's _reassuring," she spat, closing her eyes and expecting more pain….but it never came. When the naval officer groaned in pain did she opened her eyes. Reyna found the man on his knees, crouched down with a knife in his leg.

"Take your hands off my woman," a familiar voice demanded, stepping into the cell and Reyna's eyes widened.

"Captain!" she exclaimed, relief washing over her as the naval officer groaned, looking over to see who threw the knife at him.

"Pirate King, Morgan!" someone shouted, with more and more navy soldiers surrounding him with their guns pointed at him. "You're the one in enemy territory."

"Capture him!"

"Whoever captures him will receive the bounty! Don't let him get away!"

Captain Morgan looked at them mildly amused. "Well, well….you all welcome me with open arms."

"You won't be fooling around when we capture you!"

"I wonder about that," he hummed as Reyna did a count….at least ten men with some holding guns.

_He couldn't handle them all by himself! _Reyna thought worriedly, trying to break free of her holds.

"I hope you can all entertain me. Bring it on!" Captain Morgan smirked, pulling out his saber and gun just as the navy did the same with their own guns. Reyna's eyed widened as the captain and the officers dashed towards each other simultaneously. Reyna closed her eyes shut, looking away as loud gun shots were fired. By the time she opened them again, to Reyna's surprise, it was all over.

As the smoke cleared, the only one left standing was Captain Morgan. Reyna's eyes widened. "Captain, how did you…"

"What, you weren't watching?" he said in a pout. "I looked really good."

Reyna's eyes widened, feeling her heart pumping hard in her chest. "I didn't think it would end so fast," she told him as he walked into the cell.

"A battle is usually finished in a moment. Are you all right?" he asked, cutting the ropes that tied her to the chair and that held her hands. Reyna rubbed her bruised wrists and wiped away the blood on her cheek. "Great….you're all cut up and bruised. Can you stand up?"

"Of course I can," Reyna scoffed at him and when she tried to stand up, her legs gave out and she landed on her knees.

Captain Morgan clucked his tongue. "Your knees are shaking. Don't push it."

"I'm fine," she snapped at him, not used to being this weak as she tried to stand up again. Captain Morgan shook his head, picking her up and carrying her bridal style.

"You were nervous and really scared, weren't you?" he guessed as she remained silent. "Hold on tight."

Reyna's eyes looked at his shoulder and found it was bleeding. "Captain, you're hurt," she told him and he barley glanced at his shoulder.

"It's just a scratch. Don't worry about it," he dismissed it and she bit her bottom lip.

"I should've learnt healing from my mother," she whispered softly. "You shouldn't leave it alone," she dug through her pockets and found the handkerchief that Nathan lent her. Without a word, she tied it around Captain Morgan's shoulder.

"It's no big deal," he grumbled and Reyna shot him a warning look.

"Even if it's a scratch…I don't want to see you hurt," she told him softly, smoothing out the handkerchief. "Not on my account."

Captain Morgan chuckled. "You worrywart. Let's get out of here quickly," he began to run as best as he could whilst carrying Reyna in his arms.

"Is the navy coming after us?" she asked, looking over his shoulder as best as she could and found no one running after them yet.

"Yes, they'll hear of what happened soon."

Carrying Reyna in his arms, Captain Morgan ran down the back streets of Orca. After a while, they decided to hide on the side streets for a moment as the navy ran around, trying to find them.

"You can put me down now," she told him and the captain let her back on her feet gently. As Reyna heard their shouts across the town, she reached for her water skin belt, only to remember it was gone. "Dammit…they took it."

Captain Morgan frowned and then noticed it was gone as well. "They took many precautions against you."

"Gee, lucky me," she muttered, keeping an eye out. "I guess the town is swarming with the navy."

"Let's wait until it gets darker," he suggested and Reyna nodded, giving him a pointed look.

"Because even _you _can't handle the entire navy."

"What? Don't take me lightly. I can handle them, but it's just a hassle."

_When he says that, I can't tell if he's joking… _she thought dryly and sighed. "Do you think everyone else is okay?"

"I'm sure they'll manage," he shrugged his shoulders as they sat down on the street, backs up against the house behind them.

Reyna looked at the captain with curious eyes. "How did you know I was captured by the navy?"

"You were late, so I went looking for you. I thought you were lost again," he answered and Reyna pulled a slight face at the lack of faith. "Then I heard that a water bender was taken away."

"And you came to save me? Alone?" she asked in surprised, ignoring the fluttering of her heart at the idea.

"I don't need anyone's help to take them down," he murmured, gently touching Reyna's bruised wrists. "Does is hurt?"

"No, I'm fine," she waved it off but he continued to touch her wrists with a feather light feeling to it.

"They threatened you to tell them where we were, right?"

"I didn't say anything."

"Why not?"

Reyna lightly touched Captain Morgan's face with her fingers, causing him to look up at her with pained eyes. "If I did, everyone might have been caught."

"But if no one came to save you, you could have been tortured," he pointed out softly and she shrugged her shoulders. "You don't know what the navy is capable of. They don't treat pirates as human."

"They don't treat my people as humans anyway, what's the difference?" she shot at him.

"You're a woman…" he broke off, holding Reyna closer, much to her surprise. "I'm glad all you got out of it were bruises and a cut. But next time, don't be so stubborn. We can't be defeated by the mere navy. Give up the information before they do something to you."

Reyna gave him a hard look, filled with her usual stubborn eyes. "No. I'm a member of the Sirius," she told him as he leaned in closer and pressed his lips against hers. Immediately, sparks lit up in her mind as a hot shiver ran down her spine. All too soon, Captain Morgan pulled away with his face still so close to hers, that Reyna could feel his breath.

"Don't say anything more," he whispered, his voice low and husky. "…I'm not right for you."

Reyna looked at him, her confused ocean blue eyes staring into his sad slightly brown-black ones. He pulled away and plastered a smirk on his face, but it never reached his eyes.

"Besides, it's too early for a child like you," he said and she glared at him.

"I'm serious," she told him and he just chuckled.

"I know, but you'll get into trouble if you're with me. I fool around, I drink barrels of alcohol and I'm a wanted man," he listed off and Reyna's eyes softened a bit.

"And I'm a considered a monster," she replied. "Besides, you said you'd quit women and alcohol."

"But who knows how long that will last. You'll get hurt if you get involved with me. I don't fit into your life, you deserve better."

Reyna glared at him, pushing him away and standing up. "Don't tell me what I deserve in life," she shook her head, placing her hands on both sides of her head in frustration. "Why…why are you saying things like this now?"

"What do you mean?" he asked her and she looked at him with accusing eyes, filled with anger and hurt.

"You're the one who put me on a pirate ship. You made me one of the Sirius. You've kissed me _twice _now and you let me in! Why?!" she demanded him, feeling tears come to her eyes but she held them back. _It's like Alan said, the captain doesn't show his true feelings to anyone…_

"What are you hiding?" she whispered softly, loud enough for him to still hear her.

Captain Morgan looked at her, eyes slightly widened with a guarded expression on his face. "What?"

"Alan told me that you suddenly changed one day. That you don't show your true feelings. That you're supressing your true self," she informed him in a firm voice, breaking at the last word slightly.

"Alan said that? He talks like he knows me…" Captain Morgan muttered, not happy one bit with the Rika Captain.

"But I understand what he's talking about."

"Reyna…" he told her, his tone filled with warning to stop there.

Reyna ignored it, continuing to look at him. "And I can't forget your eyes when you told me that it's the worst thing to lie to yourself," she said. Reyna knew she was sticking her nose in where it might not be wanted, but she couldn't stop talking. "Aren't you the one who's lying to yourself?"

Reyna saw Captain Morgan's eye waver slightly as she continued. "You pretend to joke around and put up a wall between yourself and the others. But what are you hiding?"

For the first time, Reyna saw doubt and even a flicker of the true Captain Morgan in his eyes before it disappeared and replaced with its usual tease. "You're thinking too much of nothing," he stood up and patted her head with his usual expression.

Reyna, annoyed, slapped his hand away and glared while he continued to look at her with guarded eyes. "You're so intense….I couldn't say anything."

"So you are hiding something?" she pressed, hoping to catch him out but he smirked at her.

"I'm a pirate. Of course I'm hiding something. There's too much, I don't know where to start," he chuckled and Reyna's eyes faltered a bit.

"I'm not talking about—"

"Then what kind of secret do you think I have?" he asked her, crossing his arms over his chest as she looked away a bit before turning back to him. He could see the hurt in her eyes and the anger behind them.

"I don't know," she confessed, placing a strand of her hair behind her ear. "But whatever it is, it's forced you to hide yourself in the darkest corners of your mind that, I don't think you can find it anymore."

His eyes flashed with a dangerous emotion and he looked down the street. "That's an interesting theory," he looked back with a smirk that didn't reach his eyes. "A child shouldn't be snooping around."

"I'm…not a child anymore…" her voice cracked slightly at the end, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"From my standpoint, you're a child," he told her, as if looking down at her physically and mentally. It was like a slap in the face to Reyna. "Mind your own business…they have that phrase in Yamato, too, right?"

Her eyes widened even more, feeling more like a punch to the stomach than a slap. If Captain Morgan cared, he didn't show it as he walked in front of her. "I think we can go now."

Reyna didn't say anything as she walked behind, hiding the few tears that fell down her face.

* * *

**Song: Vacancy by Kylee**


	11. Chapter 10 - Clarity

**Chapter Ten:**

**Clarity **

_Even if Morgan didn't confirm it, I knew I was right on the money with my accusations. Your father is like a book, each page telling a new story of his life. Each hiding a secret deep within the lines. Although my feelings for him were growing, even that moment when I felt lost, he continued to fill my mind. He was the piece I wished with all of my heart that I didn't need._

_But, like always, Fate had always ruled my life and continues to rule it even now. From the moment of my conception, to my birth, my mother leaving Iciuis and raising me in Yamato, that fateful day at the bar, getting aboard the Sirius…my life has never been my own to control. My feelings, however, were the only things I __**knew **__I had control over. _

_My words shook him, making him closing himself off of me more than usual. It broke my heart and that lost feeling one gets when they don't know what to do filled me. But…I couldn't dwell on them. I wasn't given that luxury. _

_No, the seas were at war with the navy killing and hunting down pirates left and right. The Pirate King's duty was to keep peace and balance between them. I was about to see it unfold before my eyes…._

**oOo**

The Sirius was able to sail away from the port of Orca without sustaining any damage and continued its journey. Reyna was lost and confused but didn't show it to the other crew members. She didn't want them to worry and fuss over her.

"We're almost done mopping this area," Thomas informed her as Reyna bended some water onto the deck as Thomas mopped before throwing the dirty water into the ocean.

Reyna nodded. "Then I'll go mop over there," she pointed further down the deck as Russell cleaned his swords.

"Boy, you certainly get caught and sprung out often," Russell commented, looking at Reyna with teasing eyes.

"It's not like I want to," she sighed, bending water from a bucket and throwing it further down the deck. "I wonder if I just bad luck…"

"No, I'd say you have pretty good luck. There aren't that many that get captures by the navy twice and come back without injury both times. You're amazing."

Reyna rubbed her wrists at the memory, still slightly bruised. _The first time they allowed me to leave and the second time was because Captain saved me…_

After their conversation in the streets of Orca the captain had been distant with Reyna. Whether he was mauling over her words or was suddenly annoyed at her, she didn't know. What she did know was that it felt like her heart has been ripped into pieces and the distance and silence from him was breaking her apart on the inside. Since that day, Reyna didn't know how to talk to him.

"Everyone, are you around?" Christopher called, arriving on deck and drawing the attention of the younger members of the crew. "Captain's holding a meeting. Please come to the nautical room."

"A meeting? How unusual…" Russell frowned.

"Did something happen?" Thomas asked as Reyna looked at them with a confused look on her face.

"Do you have meetings often?" she asked as Thomas placed the mop close to the bucket.

"No, not unless something urgent comes up," Russell answered as they began heading to the cabin.

"This ship usually moves under Captain's discretion," Thomas explained and Reyna nodded in understanding. Together, the four of them headed to the nautical room. When they entered, Reyna sat down on a crate, one leg up with the other draped onto the floor.

"Looks like everyone's here," Captain Morgan said and Reyna ignored the calm feeling whenever she was in the same room as him. She was pissed and beyond furious with him. For pretending she no longer existed, lying to her face…treating her like a child…

"What's going on? Why are we suddenly having a meeting?" Russell asked the captain, pulling Reyna out of her thoughts as she looked down at the ground.

"You all remember the naval ships anchored at the port of Orca, right?" he asked them.

"Yes," Thomas nodded. "Is the navy up to something?"

"Exactly. Eduardo and Nathan got detailed information at Orca."

Eduardo stepped up. "The Imperial Navy is planning to annihilate all pirates and is out to subject the pirates of the world," he informed them, looking at each one of them in the eye before turning back to the captain.

"The same thing was in the homing seagull's note from out informant. A couple of pirates have already been caught and executed," Nathan added to the information and Reyna covered her mouth slightly in shock.

"No…" she whispered to herself, clenching her other hand.

"If the situation gets worse, there may be an all-out conflict between the navy and pirates over the existence of pirates," Captain Morgan told them and the air grew tense.

"If that's the case…" Russell hit his fist into his hand, a challenging look on his face. "Let's get in on it!"

Nathan nodded in agreement. "It's not our style to go down without a fight."

"Hmph. It's the perfect opportunity to put that pompous Imperial Navy in their place," Eduardo commented.

Christopher rubbed the back of his neck, a thoughtful look on his face. "I don't condone an all-out war but I can't forgive their unjust methods."

_War with the Imperial Navy….would my step-father get involved? _Reyna wondered with as her stomach knotted at the idea.

"Then, when the time comes, we'll risk our lives and fight the navy. Does everyone agree?" Captain Morgan asked the crew and they all except Reyna responded enthusiastically. "Okay, then prepare so we will be ready to battle at any time."

"Aye, aye Captain!"

"That's it for the meeting," he informed them and everyone started to leave to get back to their posts. When Reyna stood up to go finish mopping the deck with Thomas, Captain Morgan stopped her. "Reyna, I have to talk to you. Stay."

Reyna paused in her tracks and remained silent, wondering if her was finally going to yell at her for the other night. As soon as they were alone, she got her answer as he began to speak.

"Starting today, you'll be staying in a different room," he informed her and she looked at him, confused and hurt. "I need some time to plan our strategy against the navy. I can't have you here while I do that."

"Whatever," she muttered, looking away. _I guess he hates me now because of the other night. Not surprised…most people come to hate me in the end…_

"You can choose any room you want. I'm sure Christopher would take you in," he continued.

"I'll sleep on the deck," she said quietly, turning to leave when Nathan appeared in the doorway. She stepped back in surprise and wondered how long was he listening in for.

"If that's the case, I'll take her," Nathan offered as Reyna turned back to Captain Morgan, noticing him looking between them. She looked at him pleadingly but he must have not seen it or ignored it.

"There you go, Nathan will take care of you," he said and Reyna's chest tightened as she looked at Nathan, a weak smile on her face.

"Thank you, Nathan," she said softly, leaving the room.

**oOo**

Compared to the captain's room, Nathan had fewer items, cleaner and had a spicy scent in the room. Reyna finished putting the few items she had in a corner as Nathan entered the room.

"Is something the matter?" Nathan asked as she continued to sit on her knees, staring at the floor.

"Nothing's wrong," she lied and Nathan didn't believe her for one second.

"Don't try to hide it. It's written all over your face," he pointed out and Reyna sighed, giving up and looking at him.

"I think he hates me now."

"Are you sure?"

Reyna nodded. "Lately he hasn't been teasing me like he did before and he doesn't talk to me much. It's my fault, I said things that may have driven him away…"

_I won't ask him to love me, _Reyna decided, clenching her fists slightly on her knees at the idea. _But I want things to go back to normal…_

"It's true that Captain has been weird lately. I've never seen him attached to one woman like that before," Nathan agreed and she looked at him, taking in the information. "You're the only woman Captain has saved by breaking into the navy brig. I don't know what happened, but don't get too depressed."

Reyna only nodded and he smiled at her.

"It's hard to believe he would do all that for someone he hates," he said as the smile disappeared slowly. "I told you before that you're special to Captain. Remember?"

"Yeah…"

"So stop being negative. It's not like you to be down," he added and Reyna nodded. "And I'm sure there are things only you can do."

Reyna stood up, giving Nathan a small smile. "Nathan…thanks….I'm just gonna go get some fresh air, practice on a new form," she told him, walking past to the door.

"Sure. It gets chilly at night, so don't catch a cold," he warned her and Reyna scoffed.

"I'm a water bender, we're made for this type of weather," she joked and he chuckled as she left his room.

**oOo**

Reyna should be proud of herself. She managed to skate on the water that she pulled onto the deck before throwing it out back into the ocean. Now, hopefully in theory, she should be able to do that in the ocean itself.

Done with her practice, she was near the bow, sitting down and hugging her knees close as she looked out at the black sea.

_I don't know what to do anymore, _Reyna thought, swallowing the lump in her throat as the breeze kissed her cheeks. "(High dive into frozen waves where the past comes back to life. Fight fear for the selfish pain, it was worth it every time. Hold still right before we crash because we both know how this ends. A clock ticks 'til it breaks your glass and I drown in you again…)"

It sounded sad and beautiful at the same time in the old language. For some reason as well, it didn't drain her. She'd have to ask her mother about that one day…if she ever goes back to Yamato.

Images of Captain Morgan came to her mind, along with a few tears.

"(Because you are a piece of me I wish I didn't need. Chasing relentlessly, still fight and I don't know why…)"

"(If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy? If our love's insanity, why are you my clarity?)" Reyna broke off, looking out and wiping away the tears with her sleeves. She felt a little better now, like a small weight had been lifted off of her chest.

_It's been a while since the sky has been clear, _she noted, looking up at the star filled night sky. "So that's Ursa Minor," she looked over and found another constellation. "And that's Cygnus…so that means Yamato is that way."

"No, the opposite."

Reyna looked over, finding Captain Morgan standing directly behind her. Immediately, she stood up and found he didn't smell of alcohol….so he was sober….

"Don't be out here so late. You better go back to Nathan's rooms," he told her and Reyna glared at him, looking away and back out to the night sky.

"I'll return when I want to. Thank you for worrying about me," she replied coolly, her back to him.

Captain Morgan sighed. "It sounds like you're in a bad mood."

"I wonder who put me in it…"

He stood next to her and looked up at the sky along with Reyna. "That song…sounded so sad," he looked at her with pity eyes. "You know…it's not too late. You should return to Yamato."

"You're the one who said we don't have time," she reminded him softly. "Because you have to look for Skull Island."

"The circumstances are different now. We have to worry about an attack from the navy. Finding Skull Island is on hold," he explained and Reyna looked at him in disbelief.

"And because of that you're suddenly telling me to leave?" she asked, hurt in her eyes and he saw that. "That's selfish!"

"You knew from the beginning that I'm a selfish guy," he pointed out and she shook her head.

"But this is different. You accepted me….as a person…as a member of the Sirius."

"I did but…"

Tears were filling her eyes but she held them back. "And I was really happy about it. Even if I can't see my family, I wanted to stay with everyone…"

"Reyna…" he said softly and she ignored it, turning away from the ocean and looking at him straight in the eye, a few tears running down her face.

"But now you tell me to go back to Yamato? A woman can't be a pirate after all?"

Captain Morgan's eyes held a flicker of sadness and conflicted emotions in them. "It's not about that," he told her and she swallowed.

"Then….is it because you're annoyed with me?" she asked him, hoping it wasn't true.

Captain Morgan's face softened and he looked awkward. "Don't make that face," he pulled her closed and held Reyna to his chest. "It's not like that."

"Then what is it?" she asked, her face in his chest and she could smell his cologne. It brought some comfort to her, calming her down slightly.

"This thing with the navy…it could become serious," he warned her and she nodded.

"I'm prepared for it," she told him, pulling her face out of his chest and looking at him.

He smirked. "Well, you're feisty as ever," his smirked turned into a wryly smile. "It's not like I want to do this. But I don't want to put you in danger. I don't know how long I can stay by your side."

Reyna frowned. _What does that mean?_

"For now, go to sleep. Think about returning to Yamato," he pulled away and walked away, returning to his quarters.

_What is he thinking? _Reyna thought, touching her choker as anxiety of the sudden turn of events hit her.

* * *

**I personally believe that is one song the best describes the early feeling development between the MC and Morgan to be honest. Anyway, song: Clarity by Zedd. **


	12. Chapter 11 - Safe and Sound

**Chapter Eleven:**

**Safe & Sound**

_The first time I met Captain Cecil was what made me hate him. Now, he was against my presence at the meeting as soon as he saw me. Even when your father claimed I was his 'woman,' at the time, he still looked at me with suspicious eyes. Especially learning of my origins._

_Because, Lucius, at the time I didn't know this but the Rain and Solar Stones are originally from Iciuis. The Rain Stone is from the Iciuis of the Waters and the Solar from the Fires. They had been stolen, a hundred years ago by pirates who sought the treasures of Iciuis. Unfortunately for them, they managed to only capture two of the four elemental stones. That's why water and fire are the stronger elements but are limited in terms of access of the element. It also explains why Iciuis suddenly cut itself off from the rest of the world. _

_So, naturally, being from the water, Cecil was suspicious of my presence and took my reaction to the Rain Stone as an omen…._

**oOo**

Nathan had told Reyna to take food to Captain Morgan who didn't turn up to breakfast. As she knocked on the door, waiting a moment before entering, Reyna found him at his desk, reading a letter.

"Captain, I brought your food," she informed him and he remained silent, looking at the letter with hard eyes. "Captain?"

Captain Morgan barely looked at her. "Huh? Oh, just leave it," he said in a dismissing tone. Reyna frowned slightly at how serious he looked, wondering what was wrong.

Reyna placed the plate of food next to him and looked at him. "Is there something…in that letter?"

"No, it's nothing," he answered in a heartbeat and Reyna narrowed her eyes in suspicion, placing a strand of her hair behind her ear. Captain Morgan looked at her, seeing her expression and sighed. "Fine, fine. Stop looking at me like that. I have to tell the others about it, too."

Captain Morgan handed Reyna the letter and she subconsciously sat on her special spot, out of habit as she read it. When she finished reading the words on the paper, she looked at him with a slight frown. "An invitation to a captain's conference? What is that?"

"The world is divided up into four oceans. Each ocean has a representative captain who unifies the pirates in that ocean," he explained to her.

"And the Pirate King isn't one of the four?" Reyna asked, handing him back the letter and hugging her knees close to her chest.

He rubbed his chin. "No, I'm in the position of leading those four captains. In the west is former naval officer Captain Lee, in the north is former aristocrat Captain Cecil, the east has Captain Van, whose past is unknown but has a lot of connections."

"Who's in charge of the southern ocean?" Reyna asked and Captain Morgan sighed, an annoyed glint in his eyes.

"Alan…" he muttered and Reyna looked at him surprised.

"Captain Alan?!" she exclaimed and he nodded. _Could Alan really do something that responsible, like unifying pirates?_

"I understand your surprise," Captain Morgan agreed. "But he is the captain of the Rika. He'll step up when it's needed….probably."

"Probably…" Reyna sighed, rubbing the bridge between her eyes. _He's a weird person but maybe he's competent after all. _

"And why was the meeting called?" she asked him, shrugging off all thoughts of Alan from her mind.

"The navy's crackdown has intensified," he answered bitterly, glancing at the letter once more. "So they want to have a meeting and decide in which direction the pirates as a whole want to go."

Reyna noticed his slumped shoulders and annoyed tone. "You look unhappy about it."

"Yeah, I just hate meetings. The discussions take forever and it's tiring."

She raised an eyebrow. "Is that the only reason?"

"Why do you ask?" he frowned and she stood up, walking over and placing a hand over his forehead, checking his temperature.

"Because you're a little pale," she answered, finding his temperature was normal before drawing away.

"I'm pale because I haven't had a drink. It's nothing," he dismissed it and Reyna shot him a look, crossing her arms over her chest. "Don't look at me like that! If it bothers you, then come with me."

Reyna was a little taken back at his proposal. "I can go with you?" she asked, surprised that he would make such an offer and the fact that she was considering it.

"No one would complain about what the Pirate King does but…" he broke off, a thought passing through his mind.

Reyna looked at him to continue. "But?" she prompted and he looked at her, a warm emotion passing through his eyes at his thought.

"You'd have to pretend to be my woman during the meeting," he explained and Reyna's eyes widened, her heart fluttering a little. She wasn't against the idea of being his woman by now but…to _pretend_ just broke her heart slightly.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Reyna found herself nodding slightly at the idea. "Okay," she lightly touched her choker, sensing Captain Morgan's eyes watching her movements carefully.

"You better be alluring. If you're not, people won't believe it," he added and Reyna looked away, hiding away her disappointed look in her eyes.

_He still sees me as nothing but a child, _she sighed in her head, stepping away from him as he rubbed his chin.

"Okay, I have to tell everyone else. And Eduardo will have to change course," he grumbled slightly, a glum expression on his face. He got up, ignoring his breakfast and left the room, with Reyna watching him with a crestfallen look on her face.

**oOo**

The meeting was held on one of the deserted islands of the Magic Islands. For some reason, as the Sirius drew closer to the Magic Islands, Reyna felt her stomach form knots. There was this whispering in the back of her mind and she couldn't work out what they were saying.

But that wasn't the only thing she picked up on; the water seemed to drift towards the island and was calmer and still. Her soul and energy were drawn to something on the island…and it scared her.

Christopher seemed to notice the change in Reyna's demeanour and looked at her with concern. "Are you feeling ill, Reyna?" he asked her and she swallowed, shaking her head and letting out a shaky breath.

"There's something on this island….something…powerful," she answered, gripping the railing of the ship. Christopher placed his hand over her forehead, feeling her skin grow colder slightly.

"Maybe you should stay on the ship," he informed her but Reyna shook her head, looking at him with determined eyes.

"No, I told Morgan that I would go with him," she told him firmly and he smirked at her.

"Morgan huh?" he chuckled as she lightly slapped his arm, ignoring the blush creeping onto her face. This was why she loved Christopher like an older brother sometimes and the momentary teasing distracted her from her worries. "Be careful though," his face sobered as he looked at her with serious eyes. "If you're sensing something, then it can't be good."

Reyna nodded in agreement as the island came closer.

**oOo**

It was just before they entered the room did Captain Morgan finally pull her aside and looked at her with concern. "You should head back to the ship."

"I'm fine," she waved it off, ignoring the cold feeling running down the back of her spine, the goose bumps on her skin. The whispers grew slightly loudly with each step taken on the island, something Reyna was barely keeping out.

Captain Morgan opened his mouth to say something when footsteps interrupted him, forcing them both to look over. Reyna found a man dressed in very aristocratic clothing, a dark blue jacket with silver hair.

"Well, Captain Morgan. It's been a while," the man stated smoothly, gesturing for them to walk inside with them. Captain Morgan naturally walked beside him while Reyna slowly brought up the back.

"I heard you saved the Port of Aqua. Very impressive."

"I need you to die already, or the position of Pirate King will never open up."

Reyna was slightly thankful when she heard Alan's voice; even though the Rika Captain annoyed her to no end, it was nice to have someone familiar besides Captain Morgan.

Unfortunately, he noticed her standing there. "…Whoa, Reyna?"

"Hello," she murmured politely, giving him a nod in greeting as Captain Morgan moved closer towards her, giving Alan a slightly territorial glare. It was then everyone else took notice of the young woman beside the Pirate King.

"Hey, I know you wanted to see me, but why come all the way here?" Alan asked her as the man who greeted them at the door narrowed his eyes in suspicion at Captain Morgan.

"What is this about, Captain Morgan?" he demanded answers off of the captain of the Sirius. "The captain's conference is top secret. To bring your woman…"

"Why would you do this?" the man whom struck Reyna as one with authority asked, his voice filled with disbelief.

The man dressed in mostly green laughed merrily at her presence. "How interesting! So even Morgan finally got caught by a woman."

Captain Morgan just sighed at their outrage. "Calm down. Just like Captain Van said, I wanted to introduce her to everyone."

The man in blue narrowed his eyes at Reyna's neck, a flash of recognition in his eyes, followed by a burning emotion as he looked at her directly. "She's from Iciuis," he said the name as if it were dirty.

Reyna flinched slightly as Captain Morgan stood closer to her, giving him a warning look. "Does it matter, Cecil?" he challenged and Reyna realised who it was.

Captain of the Northern Seas….where Iciuis was.

She guessed Captain Morgan realised her train of thought, pulling her closer to him and slightly behind him, as if to shield her from Cecil's accusing eyes.

"I won't believe it! Because she's in love with me!" Alan thankfully drew attention away from Reyna's place of birth with his usual rant. Captain Morgan just rolled his eyes, jabbing Alan's side with his elbow.

"We don't have time. Let's start," Captain Morgan said with authority and Cecil cleared his throat as they took their seats at a round table. There were only five chairs so Reyna was forced to stand behind Captain Morgan.

"Yes, I had everyone come for one reason. The recent methods taken up by the Imperial Navy cannot be overlooked," Cecil stated and the naval man whom Reyna assumed was Captain Lee nodded in agreement.

"I agree. Surprise attacks, plundering, massacres…their actions are worse than the worst of the pirates," Lee spat angrily, disgusted by the legion he once served.

"In the end, it's about whether or not you are authorized by the king," Van shook his head, a bitter look in his eyes. "I don't like it one bit."

"So? What are you guys planning to do?" Captain Morgan asked and it was Cecil who answered in a heartbeat.

"I think we should plan a massive attack," he suggested, a little too eagerly for Reyna's comfort. "If we continue to tolerate their attacks it will affect our reputation as pirates."

"It's true. We need to show them what we're capable of," Lee slammed his fist onto the table to emphasis his point. "Some pirates indeed are mere outlaws but there are pirates who are at sea due to their own convictions."

Captain Van turned to Captain Morgan. "So what does the Pirate King think?" he asked and the others turned to him as well, looking at him expectantly.

Captain Morgan remained silent for a moment, crossing his arms over his chest. Reyna reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder in comfort, squeezing it lightly before withdrawing it back to her side. The action did not go unnoticed by three of the four captains.

"I agree with you all. I was thinking that we can't let the navy do as they wish anymore. But…" he broke off and Cecil raised an eyebrow.

"Is there a problem?" he asked bluntly, obviously not wanting any obstacle in his path for whatever he planned to do. Reyna found herself more and more suspicious of the former aristocrat.

"A full-out war would result in huge casualties on our side, too," Captain Morgan continued, ignoring Cecil. "And if the war continues for a long time, we'll be at a disadvantage."

Captain Van stroked his grey beard, studying Captain Morgan. "That opinion doesn't sound like you."

"Yeah?" Captain Morgan asked before chuckling. "Well, I'm not as young and reckless as when I was young!"

_He's doing it again, dodging a question… _Reyna noted, watching as he was forcing that laughter.

"Of course, we're not getting into a war expecting to die for nothing," Cecil sniffed indifferently, as it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Captain Morgan, we'd like you to open the Pirate King's box left by the previous Pirate King."

"It holds the pirates trump card. We'll use that to oppose the navy," Captain Lee suggested.

"Only the Pirate King is allowed to open the Pirate King's box," Captain Van stated calmly as Reyna noticed Captain Morgan becoming a little flustered.

Alan shrugged his shoulders, looking extremely bored with the entire thing. "They all agree that the Pirate King's box should be opened. You don't have a problem with it, do you?"

"The Pirate King isn't going soft, is he?" Cecil sneered at the idea, glaring at Reyna as if she were the cause of all the world's problems.

Captain Morgan sighed. "Okay, I agree as well," he said reluctantly and Cecil was the first to stand up.

"Then let's go," he said, getting up while Captain Morgan frowned.

"Go where?" Captain Morgan asked, forcing everyone to look at him with puzzled looks.

"To where the Pirate King's box is," Cecil stated quite bluntly, his eyes narrowing slightly with impatience.

"Did you forget that it's in the back ruins?" Captain Lee asked with a frown as Captain Morgan quickly threw on an embarrassed smile.

"Oh! That's what you meant!" he chuckled lightly but again this sounded forced to Reyna's ears. "I thought we were going to leave to fight the navy already!" he stood up before anyone could say a word. "Then, let's go open the Pirate King's box!"

The others followed him without a word and Reyna followed them, feeling her heart speed up in some kind of reaction to the whispers growing louder.

_Otno eeht, retaw fo eht dlrow…. _

_Relaeh…_

_Reyortsed…_

_Eht tserup fo smrof…_

_Wolla eht stirips ot hsaw gnola smaerts, skeerc, sekal dna srevirs…_

_Uoy nac reven pets ni eht emas revir eciwt… _

Reyna groaned slightly, placing a hand over her forehead, ignoring the icy feeling running through her body. It was like her whole body temperature dropped at once, like she had been standing in a snow storm for an hour.

"Reyna?" Captain Morgan looked concerned and she waved it off, swallowing her suddenly dry throat.

"I'm fine," she murmured through her gritted teeth, holding onto his arm for support and hiding away her pain and full out assault of spiritual energy. She hadn't felt this since….she was four. She noticed Captain Van and Lee exchange a look with each other before walking ahead while Alan looked at Reyna with concern.

"Is my Pearl okay?" he asked her, stepping closer until he received a death glare from Captain Morgan. "Hmph, I'll carry you in my arms, love!"

"Alan, I'm not in the mood to deal with you," she told him firmly, glaring at him slightly and ignoring the look of hurt on his face.

Cecil cleared his throat as they arrived at the back of the ruins. "Captain Morgan, please."

Captain Morgan pulled Reyna with him as he stepped up, releasing Reyna as the treasure box that was in the room was handed to him. Reyna propped herself against the vine filled wall as he began opening the box.

Reyna frowned as the box opened with a creak, but there was nothing inside. She could still feel…whatever she was feeling.

"Hey, it's empty," Captain Morgan frowned as well, studying the box. The whispers grew louder in her mind, tuning out everyone else as they casted suspicious eyes towards Captain Morgan.

Reyna grimaced, squeezing her eyes shut covering half of her face with one hand. She could hear her heart pounding hard in her chest, her breathing becoming slow and quieter than normal as the icy chill in her spine increased.

_Retaw si lufitnelp, ti si eht knird fo efil…_

"Idiot! Why are you fooling around?" she heard Alan snap as her hearing kept tuning in and out, a dizzy feeling hitting her head. Her heart was picking up speed now as she looked over, finding a rain drop shaped clear blue stone in Captain Morgan's hands. Just as her eyes landed on the stone, an ice-burning sensation hit her and she let out a cuss word.

"Reyna? What's happening to her?" Captain Morgan's voice sounded faint as she was pulled into strong arms.

"The Rain Stone…a magical stone that can control storms. It must be the elemental connection her people carry," Cecil informed the worried captain, studying the girl and seeing faint white marks creeping onto the side of her neck.

_This is the pirate's trump card, _Reyna thought breathlessly, her eyes fluttering shut and opening once more. _Why do I feel like I'm drowning just by looking at it?_

"I shall hold onto the stone," Cecil said and immediately Captain Lee was on his case.

"Why would we ever let you? Shouldn't the Pirate King hold onto it?" Captain Lee argued it Cecil just smirked, looking over at Reyna in Captain Morgan's eyes.

"Do you think it's wise to keep it around if Morgan's woman reacts to it like that?" he gestured to Reyna who barely had enough energy to glare at him. "I think it's a sign that I should keep hold of it. Besides, my region is the under the most pressure."

Captain Morgan gritted his teeth, glancing down at Reyna who was gripping his shirt in pain. "If that's the case, there's nothing we can do. Give it to Cecil," he nodded to Alan who handed Cecil the Rain Stone.

"Thank you very much. It's been a pleasure, everyone," he quipped, placing the stone in his pocket of his coat with a satisfied look on his face. "We shall be in touch," he added before turning and leaving with a quick pace.

As soon as he disappeared, the pain and sensations slowly began leaving Reyna's body as she slumped against Captain Morgan. She was panting quietly, her face red as if she had a fever.

"I'll return to my ship as well," Captain Lee bowed his head in respect and left along with Captain Van behind him.

"We should return to our ship," Captain Morgan said, helping Reyna to standing properly, as best as she could. "Can you walk?"

Before Reyna could open her mouth to reply, Alan narrowed his eyes. "Hold it, Morgan."

"What is it? I don't have time to play with you today," Captain Morgan snapped, a flash of irritation in his eyes. He had more pressing things to do, like getting Reyna to Christopher.

"I'm being serious. Morgan, there's something wrong with you," Alan stated, a serious look on his face. "Bringing a woman to the captain's conference…not knowing where the treasure was…" he looked squarely at Morgan in the eye. "Are you….the real Morgan?"

* * *

**Song: Safe and Sound by Tonight Alive**


	13. Chapter 12 - What Now?

**Chapter Twelve:**

**What Now?**

_No matter what happens, your father will always be loyal to those he cares deeply about. Since the moment I met him, that has always been something I cherished with him. Knowing that although he may flirt with other woman, __**I **__will always remain in his heart and that it is mine to keep._

_You can imagine my confusion when Alan asked your father that question but…when I saw your father's face…I knew that it was the very thing I knew he was keeping hidden in his heart. Lucius, you have another uncle besides my brother, your father's twin….the original Morgan. _

_To this day, I still don't know your father's real name but I don't need it. Morgan is Morgan to me; he is the one who has captured my heart…._

**oOo**

Reyna frowned at Alan in confusion, feeling her strength slowly return to her. "Alan, what are you saying?"

"Something's not right," Alan kept his eyes on Captain Morgan. "Even if you can fool others, you can't fool me. Morgan! Tell me the truth!"

Captain Morgan narrowed his eyes at Alan, a dangerous emotion passing through his eyes. "Stop saying crazy things. If I am not the real me, how could someone else just take my place?"

"That's right. The other captains didn't say anything," Reyna added, jumping straight to her captain's defence.

Alan didn't deter from his point, standing firm and staring hard at Captain Morgan. "I know that Morgan has a brother," Alan said and Reyna felt Captain Morgan stiffen as she continued to be in his arms. "If you're really Morgan, you should have a sinner's brand on your back imposed by the Moldor forces."

Reyna slowly stood up on her own, searching Captain Morgan's eyes for an answer. _A brand on his back?_

"If you want to prove you're real, show it to me," Alan crossed his arms over his chest, giving Captain Morgan a challenging look.

Reyna glared at Alan. "Don't be ridiculous!" she exclaimed at him and Alan waved her off.

"Reyna, stay out of this," he ordered her, eyes still on Captain Morgan. "This is between Morgan and I."

"But it's none of your business," she shot at him.

"I'm the representative of the Southern Seas," he shot back at her curtly. "It is my business."

Reyna looked at Captain Morgan, desperate for him to back her up but she found his face pale. "Captain? Morgan?" she said softly and Captain Morgan swallowed.

"Yeah, you're right…I can't hide it anymore," he unbuttoned his shirt and slowly revealed his back to Alan and Reyna. Reyna's eyes widened, finding no brand on his back and she covered her mouth in shock.

Alan was just as equally shocked. "Morgan…no," he corrected himself. "Who the hell are you!?"

"I can't believe you saw through me," Captain Morgan admitted and gave Alan a bitter smile. "Although I'm glad it was you and not someone else. Alan, just as you suspected, I'm not the Pirate King Morgan that you know."

As the words left his lips, all three of them were alerted to a noise nearby. Reyna turned around and found a stunned Russell watching them. "Russell?"

"Russell!" Captain Morgan said, equally surprised to see him there.

"What…did you just say?" Russell asked slowly, taking a few steps forward.

Captain Morgan ignored his question. "Russell, what are you doing here?"

Russell's eyes narrowed. "The navy is nearby, so I came to let you know," he answered, anger surfacing into his eyes and onto his face. "Captain, is it true what you said? What do you mean you're not the Pirate King Morgan!?" his demanding voice echoed inside the ruins.

**oOo**

_I'm not the Pirate King Morgan that you know…_

The entire Sirius crew were shocked at the words uttered by their captain. After returning from the island and escaping the navy, Russell told the others what he had overheard regarding the captain.

"Captain, is what Russell said true?" Eduardo asked, a hint of shock mixed with indignation mixed into his voice.

"You're not the Pirate King Morgan we know…" Nathan broke off, frowning deeply. "What do you mean?"

"I don't understand what's going on…" Thomas said quietly to Reyna who didn't respond, keeping her eyes on Captain Morgan. "Captain Morgan isn't Captain Morgan? So you have the same name?"

Christopher sighed tiredly as he stood close to Reyna. "Everyone, calm down. Let's listen to what Captain has to say," he advised them calmly as they fixed their on him.

"Where should I begin?" Captain Morgan spoke slowly.

"If you're not the Pirate King Morgan, then who are you?!" Russell demanded in a heartbeat.

"I used to be a mercenary for Teria," he explained and both Eduardo and Reyna recognised the name. Reyna remembered that it was Morgan's hometown while Eduardo obviously knew it from maps.

"Teria, the desert town?" Eduardo asked for clarification and Morgan nodded.

"Yes, I'm originally from a small village in south Teria. I joined the Terian forces when I was fifteen and have been witness to many battlefields since."

Reyna saw Russell's eyes widened. "Wait a minute, a battle-hardened mercenary from Teria…"

"Isn't that the person you always talk about?" Thomas asked Russell who nodded as the final piece of a puzzle finally came into place.

"The Legendary Swordsman?" he looked at Morgan who sighed, nodding in confirmation that it was he who wore that identity.

"I used to be called that in the past…" Morgan crossed his arms over his chest and Reyna hugged herself, leaning against the wall.

"I see, then I understand why you're so skilled. It's been said that only the Legendary Swordsman could match the Pirate King, but it was actually you," Eduardo deduced and Nathan looked at Morgan with a hard face.

"What happened to the real Pirate King, Morgan?" Nathan asked him.

"Morgan is my twin brother," Morgan announced and everyone's faces mirrored each other in pure shock.

"You look like him so much you could take his place…you guys are identical twins?" Christopher asked and Morgan nodded with a slight grimace.

"Yes, for better or worse, we looked alike and Morgan, my brother, died a few years ago," Morgan answered, a hint of sadness in his eyes and grief filling his voice. It tugged on Reyna's heart and she placed a hand over it, ignoring the feelings. "If news of the death of the Pirate King were made public, you know the balance of the seas would crumble," he said as he stared at Reyna who stared back, understanding what he meant behind those words.

"And if the seas became so chaotic, Iciuis would become involved," she finished his words and everyone stared at her as the tension in the room skyrocketed. No one, not even the Navy, would want the people of Iciuis to become involved in anything.

"Not only that, the unity of the pirates would be destroyed and there'd be countless acts of selfishness and destruction," Christopher muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

Eduardo sighed tiredly. "If that happened, they would be in an all-out war against the navy and everything would be thrown into confusion."

"Exactly," Morgan nodded in agreement. "Morgan knew that and asked me to take over the role of the Pirate King to protect the seas. I did waver, but it was my brother's dying wish," he laughed bitterly. "And I thought it wouldn't be bad to be a Pirate King until the truth was discovered."

Silence filled the cabin as everyone sank in the truth revealed to them. Reyna was confused and no answer to her emotions came to her mind. She was…lost.

"But…is being a Pirate King that easy?" Russell asked finally, breaking the silence, slight anger in his voice. "And could you quit being the Legendary Swordsman just like that!?"

Morgan looked awkward and guilty at Russell's words. "Russell, I know how you feel toward the Legendary Swordsman and I understand if you're mad at me for throwing it away," he told Russell who fell silent and looked away.

Eduardo cleared his throat. "This is a completely unexpected turn of events…"

"But it doesn't matter, does it?" Thomas asked the others. "Our captain is still Captain Morgan!"

Nathan shook his head at Thomas. "But that Morgan isn't the real Morgan. That's the problem."

"Many of us joined the Sirius crew because it was captained by the Pirate King," Eduardo reminded Thomas whose face fell slightly.

Christopher sighed. "Anyway, I think we need to calm down. We shouldn't make decisions when we're emotional."

"But now that you all know the truth, it's up to you to stay or leave the Sirius," Morgan said and everyone fell silent. After a moment, Morgan turned to Eduardo. "Eduardo, can you stop by the nearest port?"

Eduardo nodded.

"Think about it and decide if you want to stay on the Sirius," Morgan concluded before returning to his quarters. The silence continued and eventually everyone else returned to their rooms, minds heavy with thought.

Reyna felt a sigh escape her lips. _What should I do now?_

**oOo**

Reyna stood outside of Morgan's room before plucking up the courage and knocked on the door. _He may think I'm sticking my nose in again but I have to talk to him…_

When there was no answer to her knock, she sighed quietly. "May I come in?" she asked and heard Morgan's voice through the door.

"Reyna, eh? Come in," Morgan answered and she opened the door, entering the room and finding Morgan sitting on the bed, staring out the window. Reyna closed the door behind her and gestured to the comfortable rocking chair.

"Can I sit there?" she asked and he gave her a small smile.

"Why ask? That's your spot," he reminded her and she nodded, sitting on it and hugging her legs.

_This chair…it's Morgan's favourite, special chair…_she caught herself. _Since when have I addressed him as Morgan? Kind of seems ironic after all…_

Morgan interrupted her thoughts with a sigh. "I didn't know he had a brand on his back. He should have given me those kind of important details," he gave a little laugh as Reyna watched him quietly. "I'm sure it's from that time."

"That time?" she questioned and his eyes softened as he continued to gaze out the window. "He…the real Morgan fell in love with the princess of the Moldor Empire."

"So the rumour about the Pirate King Morgan running off with a princess was true?"

"Well, the princess was in love with Morgan, too."

"So the two were in love?"

Morgan nodded and his eyes hardened at the memory. "Yeah, but that was the problem. There's no way they would allow a princess to fall in love with a pirate, right? When the emperor found out, he was furious."

Reyna felt herself being drawn into the story. "And…what happened?"

"Morgan was captured by the imperial forces and was told to break it off with the princess. I'm sure he was branded as a sinner then. He wasn't executed immediately. Probably thanks to interference from the princess."

"So did he break up with the princess?" she asked, her heart tugging in pain at the idea of being separated from the one you love. She knew her heart would break if she was separated from Morgan.

"It would've been good if he had," he shook his head and turned his gaze towards her, a passionate look in his eyes. "Morgan broke out of jail and his love for the princess grew more intense. So Morgan and the princess promised to meet up to elope."

Reyna swallowed. "Were they able to run away safely?" she asked quietly, somehow already knowing the answer to that question.

"No, it ended in tragedy. Morgan was tricked," Morgan's eyes looked they were about to cry but he held them back. "The princess didn't come to where they were supposed to meet. Instead, he encountered a large number of imperial soldiers."

Reyna's eyes widened, feeling a stray tear leave her eye at the news and she covered her mouth in shock while Morgan continued, looking out the window once again.

"The princess was imprisoned by the emperor. Morgan was able to defeat the imperial forces and was able to escape the Moldor Empire and meet up with me. But as we were escaping on a ship, he passed away."

"Did the real Captain Morgan know that the princess was imprisoned by the emperor?" Reyna asked the question burning in her mind. When she asked that, Morgan shook his head slowly.

"It's regretful that I didn't get to tell him that," Morgan's voice was caught on a slight sob. "But he believed in her until the end. That there was no way the princess would betray him," he sighed deeply before turning to her. "So this is all of what I was hiding."

Reyna nodded slowly, swallowing the lump in her throat. "…Thank you for telling me."

Morgan smiled a little and reached out for Reyna. She stood up and allowed him to hold her close in an embrace, somehow feeling it was…_right_ to be in his arms. As if they were moulded just for her. "It's been a while since I've touched you. I hope you're okay with it," he murmured into her neck and she snuggled closer.

"When you hold me…I feel safe," she admitted, breathing in his scent.

"That's good. I feel calm when I'm with you like this," he replied before pulling back slightly, allowing Reyna to see the hard look in his eyes. "Reyna. I'm going to be wanted for the rest of my life. After all, I'm the man who claimed falsely to be the Pirate King."

"Morgan…" she began to say but he placed a finger over her lips, silencing her and getting her to listen as he continued to talk.

"At the captain's conference, I introduced you as my woman. So something might happen to you, too. But I'll make sure that you're safe," he vowed to her and she nodded. "Even if it takes my life."

A panicked look filled Reyna's eyes as he pulled her closer once more, hiding his face in her hair that now hung loose on her back and shoulders.

"That chair you always sit on was the only thing that I brought in as myself."

"Really?"

"Yes, it was from an inn I stayed at for a while. When I was to captain the Sirius I asked the owner to let me buy it."

Reyna laughed quietly in his neck. "It's a really comfortable chair," she admitted to him and Morgan chuckled as well.

"Right? I felt that chair was the only thing that knew the real me. It's something minor…but it came to be an important chair."

Reyna pulled back a bit, examining his face. "Why do you let me sit in it?" she asked him softly. "I heard the only person who sat in it was Russell when he was drunk…"

Morgan laughed at the memory and Reyna felt herself smile. "Yeah, I remember that. You should have seen his face when I took all of his meat…it was like the end of the world," he smiled. "I don't know why I'm okay with you sitting in that chair. It just felt right, that's all."

"Felt right?" she asked him and he nodded, staring at her necklace before his eyes flickered back to hers.

"I just thought…I don't mind it if you sit in it," he answered as he held her closer. "Reyna, you should—"

Reyna opened her mouth at the same time and began to say, "Morgan I—" as they both spoke at the same time, the ship suddenly slowed down. A few moments later, there was a knock at Morgan's door.

"Captain, we've arrived at Mila," Eduardo's voice was heard through the door and Morgan began to pull away, leaving Reyna sitting on the bed.

"Okay, I'll be right there," he replied to Eduardo who soon disappeared. Reyna couldn't help but feel disappointed with Eduardo's timing when Morgan looked at her. "Reyna….I'm not right for you. And I know what happens to that kind of love."

Reyna could see the pain in Morgan's eyes as those words left his lips and she gripped the sheets under her fingers. "Morgan…"

"You should forget about me," he added and without turning back, Morgan went out to the deck, leaving her alone with her thoughts. Tears rolled down her cheeks as a pain spread throughout her chest.

"Dammit…" she cursed, wiping her eyes as the tears continued. "You can't say shit like that….and expect me to forget about you…."

**oOo**

It was the morning after the day everyone got off the Sirius to decide what they wanted to do. Everyone was supposed to meet up in front of the Sirius while Reyna was hesitant to leave the captain's quarters.

"I guess it's almost time," Morgan sighed from the bed as Reyna continued to sit in the rocking chair.

"Yeah, but I think everyone is going to come back," she reassured him with a small smile.

Morgan snorted at the thought. "I wonder about that," he shook his head and gave her a small smile. "I'll be waiting here, so can you go see if they're here?"

Reyna frowned. "I think you should come too," she told him but he waved it off.

"No, it's okay. Besides, I'd be depressed if no one's there, right?" he laughed lightly but Reyna could tell it was put on. He surprised her by throwing his hat on top of her hat and she yelped in surprise. "It's too big," he chuckled and she pouted slightly. "Okay, now you're the proxy captain, so go."

Reyna narrowed her eyes suspiciously before nodding and heading to the door, meeting up with the others on the docks. Russell seemed surprised by Morgan's hat on Reyna's head when she met up with them.

"Hey, why are you wearing Captain's hat?" Russell questioned and she shrugged her shoulders.

"He said to wear it and come here," she answered as Christopher chuckled.

"You look cute," he smiled warmly at her and she blushed a little bit, crossing her arms over her chest and looking away.

"And is Captain inside?" Nathan asked and Reyna nodded.

Eduardo cleared his throat, wanting to get this over and done with. "So, what did you all decide?"

"I'm staying on board!" Russell answered in a heartbeat, which wasn't really surprising to Reyna. "I was originally in it for the Legendary Swordsman anyway. And if that's Captain, then that's fine with me."

Thomas nodded in agreement. "I'm also staying. It was the current Captain who hired me, so…"

"I'll stay, too. There's no other captain who understands what good food is," Nathan crossed his arms over his chest and Reyna felt herself beam at the turn of events.

"Doc?" Eduardo asked Christopher who nodded with a smile.

"I'll return to the Sirius, too. Just like Thomas, it was the current Captain who allowed me on the ship," Christopher answered and all eyes turned to Reyna.

"And you, Reyna?" Eduardo asked and she smiled.

"I'll stay on the Sirius," she answered and he looked slightly surprised at her answer.

"I see. I thought you hated pirate ships."

Reyna shrugged her shoulders, ignoring a small pain in her chest and kicking at the wooden dock a bit with her feet. "That's in the past and without the Sirius; I wouldn't have gotten stronger with my bending. I'd probably be stuck practicing in the forest anyway."

Eduardo nodded at her answer. "So…in the end, everyone is returning."

"You staying too?" Russell asked the navigator who nodded with a tired sigh.

"It's a hassle to find another captain now," Eduardo said in a bored voice and Christopher shook his head.

"Why can't you admit you acknowledge that Captain is a good man?" the doctor asked as Thomas beamed.

"Then let's hurry and go tell Captain the good news!" Thomas exclaimed as they all headed back onto the ship, only to find it completely empty. Frowning, Russell headed towards the captain's quarters and found it empty with everyone else behind him.

"Why isn't anyone here?" Russell asked as the pain in Reyna's chest grew a bit more, a hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach. Nathan stepped forward as he spotted a sword and a letter left on the table.

"This is Captain's sword," he said, picking it up and examining it. "There's a name engraved on it. The sword of the real Captain Morgan…"

Eduardo grabbed the letter and handed it to Christopher. "The letter is made out to you, Doc."

Christopher took the letter and opened it, reading its contents. When he finished, he sighed deeply.

Ignoring the pain, Reyna looked at him. "What did it say?"

"He left me in charge of everything because he figured I would return," he looked at Reyna with sad eyes. "It also says to take you back to Yamato, Reyna."

Reyna's eyes widened and she clutched her chest, feeling the air escape her lungs and knees weakened. Christopher immediately looked concerned as Nathan caught her, Reyna's breathing becoming shallow as the pain grew. It honestly felt like a cord had been snapped with Morgan's disappearance.

"Reyna? Are you alright? Reyna?" Christopher's voice sounded distant, along with everyone else's and her vision blurred before she slowly blacked out.

**oOo**

"…So what does that mean? Captain left the ship?" Russell's voice was the first thing Reyna heard as she slowly woke up, keeping her eyes closed. "And it made Reyna sick?"

"That's what is seems," came Christopher's reply. "I've read about the bond in a few books. When a bender gives up something precious to someone, a bond is created between the two. In Reyna's case, I would have to say a kiss since from what I can gather; water benders find intimate contact with the opposite sex sacred."

"How does that make her sick?" Eduardo asked in a tone of disbelief.

Christopher sighed tiredly. "Separation….it's not good for the bond. From my teacher's notes, there are at least three different ways it can affect the bender. The first one is they enter a coma until their partner returns. Second one is they slowly fade away and the last one is memory loss."

It was then tears spilled out of Reyna's eyes and she whimpered, allowing the others to think she was having a nightmare. A warm hand was soon caressing her hair in order to sooth her.

"Do you think he knew about it?" Nathan asked. "'Cause that doesn't seem like something that brazen-faced Captain would do."

"What are we going to do?" Eduardo asked. "This port has a lot of ships entering and leaving. If he goes out to sea, it's going to be tough to find him."

"Is there a possibility he's still in town?" Thomas asked worriedly.

"Not likely, the further the distance between them, the worse the pain gets for Reyna," Christopher answered tiredly, a tinge of sadness in his voice as he said those words. Reyna heard Nathan curse under his breath and figured it was him comforting her.

"So he's already out to sea?" Russell asked.

"That would be my guess," Eduardo replied.

"Then we're going to look for him!" Russell exclaimed loudly, only to be shushed by three people. "Damn it, I can't let the Legendary Swordsman slip away from me again!"

"And for Miss Reyna to get better," Thomas added and they all agreed quietly.

"Now that's settled, shall we set sail?" Christopher suggested as a few footsteps shuffled out of the room, leaving only Nathan and someone else.

_Morgan, everyone is waiting for you…please come back…_

* * *

**Song: What Now? by Rhianna**


End file.
